Artist Ma Late with one of her paper collage creations at the Werribee Park Mansion. 72008 Picture: XAVIER SMERDON
By XAVIER SMERDON
WERRIBEE Park is well known for it’s beautifully created landscape and the famous mansion that sits within, but it now has one more claim to fame. It is home to an award-winning paper collage artist.
Ma Late has a history that is almost as fascinating as the property she is now based at.
Born in Burma and of the Karen ethnic group, Ma Late spent 16 years in a Thai refugee camp before moving to Australia in 2008.
It was after she arrived in Australia that she was taught the basic skills of paper collage, something she took to instantly.
Her English teacher from AMES, Carmel Power, said Ma Late had a natural talent for the art form.
“She’s never had any experience of fine art until she came to Australia,” Ms Power said.
“It just so happens that all the students who learnt it are pretty brilliant at it.”
Ma Late won last year’s Heartlands Refugee Fine Art Prize, with part of the winnings being a studio in one of the homestead rooms at Werribee Park.
“Ma Late had a choice of any of our parks to be based at, but living in Laverton, she chose to be closer to home,” Parks Victoria’s Helen Hopkins said.
“Artists have always had a great relationship with parks and this is about fostering that connection between artists and the environment.”
The artist said told Star through an interpretor that she was enjoying her new life in Australia.
“In my country I’ve never seen this kind of art,” she said.
“In my country they are always fighting and I lived with fear, but here I can live without fear and go wherever I want to go.”
The extremely intricate artworks are a reflection of Ma Late’s perfectionist attitude and an A4 page can often take her up to nine hours to complete.
Ma Late will be based at Werribee Park until December this year.
