Allie Webb

Sydney-based artist Allie Webb is widely celebrated for her unique approach to traditional artmaking, treating timeless subjects to graphic representation. Her established practice has informed the aesthetic identities of countless culinary establishments across the city.

Her lively print scenes tend to be set around a dining table, an altar of routine and ritual, highly charged with social subtext. Webb’s obsession with the culture of dining out is made tangible in every bustling composition. Her ability to capture such depth in her subject matter lends an richly visceral quality to each piece.  

Webb has found great inspiration in the experiments of the Cubists - painters who were keen to deconstruct the act of looking by any means necessary. Her works distill elements to their most basic forms, often relying on little more than a silhouette to generate pictorial interest in her prints and drawings. Her tableaux are a celebration of character and personality. A still life with a langoustine, say, an awkward conversation between lovers or a busy streetscape all conjure a particular essence of a moment in time rather than its minor details.

Unmistakably the work of Allie Webb, this lino-cut piece depicts Rosheen Kaul’s black pepper mud crab. A recipe so fiery and luscious has seen Allie introduce burnt red colours to her traditionally monochromatic works. Black pepper crab is the evil twin of the famous Singapore chilli crab. The sauce has this luscious, radiating warmth from the cracked black peppercorns and chilli, and so much fragrance and flavour from curry leaves.