Cat Yenn’s ‘Double Bounce’ Exhibition

Artist and designer Cat Yenn explores the exhilaration of a child jumping on a trampoline in her first solo exhibition, ‘Double Bounce’, at Sydney’s Rainbow Studios.

For the past 10 years, Cat Yenn has revelled in her role as head of brand at Sydney furniture studio DesignByThem, expressing that she “feels very grateful to be surrounded by talented, hard-working and creative people every day”. But she’s also yearned to take a leap into something less known, something riskier. ‘Double Bounce’, her first solo exhibition as an artist, represents that leap.

“I’m a perfectionist, but I find it thrilling to take the more chaotic, unknown route. And ‘Double Bounce’ is definitely unfamiliar territory for me.”

“Over the past decade working as a designer and artist, I’ve recognised how much I thrive off fear and pressure to achieve things,” says Yenn. “I’m a perfectionist, but I find it thrilling to take the more chaotic, unknown route. And ‘Double Bounce’ is definitely unfamiliar territory for me.”

A graduate of UNSW’s School of Art and Design (formerly the College of Fine Arts), where she majored in ceramics, graphics and jewellery, Yenn grew up in an artistic household and confesses that holding a solo exhibition is a dream she’s had since she was five. And it was childhood that influenced the works in ‘Double Bounce’, an examination of the duality of weightlessness and heaviness that comes from being double bounced on a trampoline.

“I think the minimalistic nature of the works creates a sense of familiarity for the viewer and, in turn, might touch on a sense of nostalgia.”

“The works explore the thrill of both those feelings, peaked with a moment of joy,” explains the artist. “I wanted to express this playful exchange by juxtaposing every colour and form on the painting. To balance space and tension, each piece has a monolithic element contrasted with a small ball to emphasise that feeling of displacement and weightlessness. Though the compositions are abstract, I think the minimalistic nature of the works creates a sense of familiarity for the viewer and, in turn, might touch on a sense of nostalgia.”

Not surprisingly, considering her design pedigree, the paintings feature a considered balance of colour. “I take a lot of inspiration from the interior and furniture design world, understandably. I love how colour is affected by volumes and textures. I gravitate towards bright colours naturally, so I always try and work them in in a way that elevates the composition without it feeling childish.”

“I’ve found it best to just get up and start painting or sketching immediately to ride the wave.”

Yenn has been working on the series for five months, most intensively over the past three, often in bursts of activity “super early in the morning or at midnight. I’ve found it best to just get up and start painting or sketching immediately to ride the wave.” The pieces begin as sketches in a notebook, “repeated over and over until it feels natural to apply to the canvas”.

A full-time job and creating paintings for an exhibition might seem a lot, but Yenn says that working in a field that uses creativity in a practical way has allowed her to forge a deeper understanding of how people interact with colour and shapes. “I find working within parameters, ironically, the best way to excel beyond expectations,” she says. “Applying boundless imagination to the challenge and consideration of it all really excites me.”

‘Double Bounce’ continues at Rainbow Studios, 348 Liverpool Street, Darlinghurst, until 12 June.