3 Exhibition Project Contemporary Artspace

Artist Statements

Floods, Saturday 6th April 2024

The rains came bucketing down in about 2 hours. The water was black then reddish brown. Red sand everywhere. Houses, cars, bikes, furniture, rumpus rooms, office, laundries stacked up and washed away down the creeks, to the beaches.

After the coast flooded the sun shone brightly in a blue sky.

Austi Pools were full of it all. Foam on top. I immersed myself in the discoloured water. I got a sense of the destruction from under the water’s surface. I saw the bright sunlight of daytime above me. A sense of hope during a destructive situation.

Climate change is here. Know it, feel it. Address it.

May 2024

At My Feet’ Series

‘Everything you need to make art is at your feet. You don’t need to look any further.’ Ian assured me of that.

Since these conversations with Ian I have kept bits and pieces of objects that have come into my life. I don’t use other people’s bits and pieces any more, just my stuff.

I am still working on this At My Feet series, inspired by my teacher, friend, sculptor and mentor Ian Gentle who lived and worked in the Clifton School of Arts building. Ian’s influence is in every art work I create. His voice and encouragement keeps me going and creating.

These works are a collection of found objects that could’ve been discarded into landfill. They have been rearranged onto bases of offcuts from my neighbour’s deck.

I continue to be influenced by Ian Gentle’s words whether creating sculpture, prints, artist’s books or textiles.

May 2024

Infinity Pool Series

 In the water I have no edges. I am one with the water, the sea, the ocean, the earth, the world, the universe.

My daily swims in the ocean rock pool and the surf provide endless images of water, light, spray, weeds, snails, fish, molluscs, sand, rocks, refracted and reflected light, cloudy, and sunny, bright and dull, foamy and flat, and sometimes rough.

May 2024

Cutting the Cord Series

These works were created while considering the parenting of my 4 children. The liquid metal temporarily frozen in time joined with the natural fibre created by silk worms. Time paused for contemplation and time immemorial activity. Letting go.

May  2024

Barcode Series – 1

• I am amazed at the amount of packaging that we deal with.
• The variety of things designed and created to contain or bring objects to our life is very interesting to me.
• I have been looking at the amount of packaging my purchases are generating.
• At first I just collected it, then I started to enjoy rearranging what others have discarded.
• I celebrate the effort that went into creating the objects, the power generated the energy, the engineering, the ideas, the design etc
• I wonder how much difference it would make if we did not accept all the packaging that comes to us ‘for our own good’ or for security reasons.
• I’ve kept it out of landfill and I’ve put it up for us to consider.
• Do we need all this stuff? Should we contribute to the use of energy in this way?
• How much are we responsible?
• Instead of only seeing discarded objects, I invite the viewer to see these objects in a different context.

                                                              May 2024