Projects - artist statements

Conciliation:  The Arid Garden

This project is about coercive control as a hidden and insidious form of domestic violence. 

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The metaphoric form it takes is that of colonising plants, which arrived in Australia with the original European invaders and settlers, who themselves applied methods of coercive control inclusive of violence and fear. 

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By their inherent need for survival in their new terrain these plants have adapted themselves to the climate and environment, and flourished, displacing native species in the process, and creating a devastating impact on the ancient, and modern, ecosystems and associated land management pracitces.

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The use of "conciliation" in the title is to highlight the absence of it, underscoring the need to support ongoing efforts to achieve better outcomes, both in the field and in the home.

Cave Lines & Touchstones

Cave Lines & Touchstones is about revisiting the past, the distant past in the caves of antiquity where all of us originated from indigenous beginnings in a place on earth, following similar pathways of cultural development which diverged into a focus on either technological (scientific) or spiritual / artisan (arts) development as a principal focus, not necessarily to the exclusion of the other.

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My intent was to explore my own origins, looking backwards as it were, to re-focus on moving forwards in the wake of a lengthy and difficult marriage breakdown. 

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In my multi-layered way this also became a metaphoric reference to respecting the native influences and cultural expressions of all peoples, whether they appear to align with our modern cultural representations or not.  As we face global environmental uncertainties, perhaps it is those who live closer to the earth and maintain a balance and stewardship over natural resources who are the gate-keepers to an inheritance currently lost to many. 

Lifeline (or Cellular)

Developed during the 2020 pandemic lockdowns in Melbourne, this artwork was constructed from "materials on hand", being reams of magazines and plastic shopping bags, together with art studio materials inclusive of resin and gold leaf.

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While the principle "lifeline" was in finding ways to manage the fear, isolation, and uncertainty regarding our future welfare, as individuals and as a society, the metaphoric references in this work include many things taken for granted in our pre-Covid-19 world.  Our former lives were imprinted on the pages of the magazines which were scrolled into the tight little time capsules of the paper beads - fashion, decor, travel, health and medical advice, lifestyle choices, horoscopes referencing the future, recipes, etc.  The shopping bags represent the devastated local and global economies as employment, industry, and other aspects of our material way of life came into sharp upheaval. 

Originally titled "Cellular", this project is a documentation of the way society became reduced to cells - homes in the residential towers all around my own in Melbourne where residents lived in isolation side-by-side, locked into their individual living or office spaces by the viral cells known as Covid-19.   

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The contradiction of isolation as a co-lived experience, that created a unity of drive to survive, is at once fascinating and surreal. 

Me and My Shadow

This project was developed from a series of provocations.  Progressively I began to recognise the theme of "the shadow self" emerging in the quirky objects that resulted.  Being subject to the first year of pandemic lockdowns in Melbourne meant exploring 
materiality found in the home, which lead me to paper-based works in papier-mâché, hand-made paper, paper collage and sealants, up-cycling packaging material and applying my textile artisan skills to alternate materials such as bottle labels and plastics.

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The concept of the shadow self is the recognition of parts of ourselves we would rather not identify with, and have the tendency to try to conceal - thus the reference to the mercurial Harlequin or Pierrot figure in the bottles image above.  The theory is that it is only when we can reconcile with our shadow self that we truly become whole, and a continued disassociation and alienation of parts of ourselves only leads to chaos, ignorance of our own needs, and the reliance on a false image masking a fear of authenticity.

As a juxtaposition to throw such heavy concepts into relief, and engage the viewer in intrigue, I have maintained a playfulness to the works, and exhibited them as gift-shop items.

Time in a Bottle

The paper beads from the Lifeline / Cellular project began to symbolise time in my project artworks, so in this image they became the "sand" in a sand-timer made of upcycled household bottles.

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This work was also produced during the pandemic lockdowns, and includes a piece referencing the "Black Lives Matter" movement.  It represents symbiosis, the

need to recognise the "one-ness" of humanity, and that in injuring others we injure ourselves, and the whole of humanity in the process.  While all lives matter, there remains inequity in many so-called advanced societies based on prejudice, ignorance and disadvantage, along with latent violence associated with unhealed wounding, entitlement, unmitigated control or lack of personal empowerment, sometimes generations deep.

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The use of bottles - broken, reconstructed, empty, filled with resin but shattered by its heat and held together in the setting process, is intentionally thought-provoking.  One response within the pandemic lockdowns was increased addiction, domestic violence, and breakdown of relationships.  The artwork is representative of grief, preservation, brokenness, resilience, survival, restoration and recovery.

To The Core

This project is representative of hidden forms of domestic valence, and the ability to persevere, survive, and thrive as a consequence. 

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The canvas is constructed with strips of canvas fabric hardened with varnish and covered with a nude-coloured voile, allowing illumination of the "bones" of the image.  There is a facial portrait, representing the soul and mind of a person, and a diptych torso section representing body and heart.  The body and heart are bandaged, the soul and mind remain exposed.

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Also present in the series are pomegranates - symbols of spiritual strength and abundance of fruit, and rebirth.

Home in a Suitcase

A form of chaos-making in a relationship beset by coercive control can be a constant upheaval of the home environment, such as continual renovation, multiple homes, and house moving. 

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This artwork speaks to such chaos, with the exterior of a travel bag converted to represent a house, and the interior is laden with replica household goods, which are tumbled and disarrayed constantly with the movement and repositioning of the case.