Play time
2023 Grad show exhibition - Masters of Contemporary Art, VCA Southbank
Image Courtesy the University of Melbourne
Fringe - VCA Studios 2023
Fringe and wire
This work has the potential for more sculptural elements and is very flexible in its arrangement. I love the movement of the textiles when the wind picks up nor a body passes. For such a delicate fabric, the illusion is fixed and strong from a distance, but in reality, is soft and delicate.
Presented at VCA, ( Aug 2022) this work (in Monoprint and soft textile work/tube) continues with my research around play and audience engagement. Thinking about how to use the space and combine elements from the monoprint, the textile shapes relate to each other and the environment.
New work - Monoprints
Big and bold define these paper works, and yet these monoprints show intimacy in their subtle texture and colour variations. The works are produced as a response to my research in play, and in particular, how as adults we view and interact with play based concepts. Many have suggested and been disproven that art making is an extension of play, that in art, adults have a socially acceptable way in which to play, roleplay and experiment. Outside of the “Therapy” zone, in which a vast majority of research and academic writings have been centered on, there are slim pickings for peer reviewed and established findings on play for adults. In this work I reimage a world where adults are encouraged to play, interact in a safe space and learn.,
Monoprints are oil on Somerset paper, original signed works and this series continues…
Soft Pillow pits
This body of work has been completely developed at Uni (I’m currently studying my Masters in Contemporary Art) and I heavily utilised feedback from peers and supervisors throughout the semester. Oddly the work is in response to my interest in Chronic pain, as a Myotheripist I work with clients to reduce pain and I find the topic fascinating. Over the course of the semester, I have played with material, stripped it right back to basics, gone big, and rearranged the space outside my studio into several incarnations of ideas as I work though my thoughts and relate them back into the made or collected objects. So much of my information has been from others walking by and being invited to interact with the soft objects. The final piece presented in the octagon gallery was a part experiment to see how an idea could be presented in a white cube. It was unsuccessful in the sense that I did not get the audience to play, but the feedback and open and thoughtful conversations around play was insightful and will inform my new work moving forward.
Aqua Critters
Creeping out of nooks, hanging from the ceiling, and generally up to no good, these band of misfit sea creatures are made to interact and play with internal rooms. I wish to create an immersive universe filled with stuffed textile works, some of which resemble hybrid of creatures we find in our oceans. Utilising the massive amount of textile waste found in second hand shops, these creatures are hand sown, stuffed and adorned with pom poms, sequences, and clay spikes. On the surface of the creatures feature human faces, often embroidered, and painted, almost as if reflecting out own faces, like a mirror. The creatures can be hung, some stand, but together they form a body of movement that interacts with the space and visitors. Some can hide and shimmy from a bottom drawer, others can interact with found internal items like ladders and desks. They can band together and knock over shelves, stack books and form a defence using objects from the room.
