faridah cameron — letters to dead artists
The creativity of Faridah Cameron extends beyond her striking abstracts. Writing has always been a passion, and she can now add ‘published author’ to the mix.
Faridah has delighted us for years with her paintings, but be prepared to also be spellbound by her ‘little book’ Letters to Dead Artists: “It started off as something very personal and unguarded. I wrote letters to 11 artists who were important to my life, but then I realized that perhaps there is a point to my musings that should be shared,” Faridah explains.
She hopes her book will make art more accessible with an overarching theme that you don’t need expertise to understand what is before you. “There is no right or wrong. Everyone views a piece of art differently. I want to encourage people to engage with art and not shy away.” However, Faridah also wants us to enjoy reading her letters.
Most of Faridah’s artists are not household names, and she pens her first letter to American abstract painter Agnes Martin: “My dear Agnes, you were already nearly gone by the time I heard of you, already painting the looming black shapes that preceded your death. I recognized in them something of importance to me, although I could not have said what that was. And then you were gone.”
Faridah’s next solo exhibition opens at Handmark on 30 January 2026.
Faridah Cameron will be launching Letters to Dead Artists on September 7 at the Black Swan Bookshop in New Norfolk.