Working fluidly painting, photography and objects, Sandra Tinari’s artworks begin with fragments of places, natural forms and field research imagery, transformed through processes of observation, abstraction and making.

After decades working internationally in media as a professional photographer and journalist, of chasing light, colour and atmosphere, Tinari recognised that her memories of place are often held as flashes of light and colour. These chromatic impressions carrying the atmosphere and feeling of an experience. That recognition now sits at the heart of her practice.

Field trips are an important part of her work. The eccentric colours, forms and materiality she finds in Australian bushland environments, salt lakes and mineral terrains become launchpads for new investigations and experiments.

Through photography, Tinari uses the camera to move familiar subjects towards ambiguity through light, focus, proximity, movement and fragmentation.

Her Objets and paintings extend these investigations, introducing material, surface, construction and the hand of the artist. In her paintings, Tinari builds and subtracts layers of pigment, an intensely physical process allowing subtle transitions, traces and imperfections to emerge. The paintings, often inspired by Western Australia’s salt lakes, explore colour, light and the natural processes of accumulation and erosion.

Throughout her career, Tinari has lived and worked across Australia, the United Kingdom, Europe and the Middle East. Working in media and as an artist, she has contributed to numerous exhibitions, public installations and cultural projects.

She is now based in Perth, Western Australia.