SMALL WORKS

2010 - 2016

I have been fortunate to have been invited to participate in many exhibitions over the last decade where I have made works in response to various curatorial themes.

MEANWHILE IN...

2016

Created for Courage at Three 0'Clock Gallery, Melbourne

Courage, curated by Kim DeKrester, was an incredibly important exhibition which brought together a collection of human rights poster art collected by humanist artist, William Kelly. As a resident artist of the gallery, I was asked to respond to this concept and to the posters in my own voice.

At the time, April of 2016, there were over fifty armed conflicts occurring globally, with a cumulative death toll in the millions. In the media, we often hear only of 'major conflicts' and other 'minor conflicts' seem to be dismissed by conservative media. This work pays tribute to the suffering of those caught in 'minor conflicts'. By selecting a handful of these nations and utilising their national flowers as signifiers of cultural identity, I mourn for the innocent victims and quietly remind viewers of what is occurring outside the current safety of their existence.

Mexican Dahlia

2016

Graphite on tracing paper

Meanwhile In..., Installation View

2016

Graphite on tracing paper

Pakistani Jasmine

2016

Graphite on tracing paper

Yemeni Coffee Arabica

2016

Graphite on tracing paper

Meanwhile In..., Installation View

2016

Graphite on tracing paper

Turkish Tulip

2016

Graphite on tracing paper

CLEANSE

2014

Created for Internment at the Old Melbourne Goal

Developed as a project for my Masters at RMIT, this work was a site specific response to my physical and emotional reaction to being in a cell at the Old Melbourne Goal.
Through an introductory tour of the complex I learnt of the horrific conditions and that over a hundred people had been executed while the prison was in operation,1842-1929. I was left with such a visceral feeling of dread, my whole body was awash with the doom of the past that lingered within the building's walls.
I can't be sure sure, but I think that sometimes a building holds the history of its inhabitants, that feeling of dread was so pervasive I wanted to respond by trying to cleanse the space and myself of some of the historic despair I could feel around me.
White Sage (Salivia apiana) has been used for centuries by many cultures around the globe in mystic rituals. This piece is a visual representation of the smudging ritual, by placing sage within a space, I hoped to bring some semblance of peace.

Cleanse, original drawing

2014

Graphite on paper

Cleanse, Installation View

2014

Charcoal on voile

Cleanse, Close up

2014

Charcoal on voile

FLORAL CONSTELLATION

2014

Created for Nocturnal Winter Arts Festival City of Greater Dandenong

This piece was one of my first experiences working in public with governing bodies and stakeholders, because of this, the work went through many iterations before being resolved into Floral Constellation. In my mind, it remains a propositional work, never being fully realised.

My intentions for this work was to find a concept which could speak to the many diverse cultures and ethnicities that live in the City of Greater Dandenong. My research took me to the concept of stars, something which is universally imbedded in centuries of culture, religion, mysticism and spirituality. My original concept did not materialise which led me to look at national flowers as representational images to signify the cultural diversity of the area. The individual images were placed in the formation of an imagined constellation.

Blue Water Lily, Sri Lanka

2014

Graphite on tracing paper digitally modified

Tulip, Afghanistan

2014

Graphite on tracing paper digitally modified

Rumdul, Cambodia

2014

Graphite on tracing paper digitally modified

Floral Constellation, Installation View

2014

Floral Constellation, Installation View

2014

Floral Constellation, Installation View

2014

Lotus, India and Vietnam

2014

Graphite on tracing paper digitally modified

Plum Blossom, China

2014

Graphite on tracing paper digitally modified

Lily of the Valley, Yugoslavia

2014

Graphite on tracing paper digitally modified

CIRCULAR CERES

2014

Created for Ceres Harvest Festival

This work is by far the furthest from my usual practice, and maybe that is why it is one of my personal favourites. It was conceptually driven, performative and completely ephemeral. Made for Ceres Environmental Park's annual winter solstice festival, this piece was inspired by cycles and circles. Seasons, ecosystems, planetary revolutions, the goddess, sacred geometry, life and death; this elementary shape has been used globally for centuries to represent all of these things and more. I developed the work as a treasure hunt around the park for visitors to discover as they moved through the site. I used my body as a compass to draw the circles using the constraint of the length of my legs as a measurement. Working in a public space always comes with joys and frustrations, but possibly due to the site, this work was so joyous and the conversations I had with people completely inspiring and heartwarming.

COFFEE

2012

Created for Home Stories at Adelaide Central Gallery

I was invited to participate in a collaborative exhibition between Adelaide Central Gallery and the South Australian Migration Museum called Home Stories, curated by Vivonne Thwaites. The selected artists were given the opportunity to immerse ourselves in the Museum's archives to find inspiration.

After many riveting hours of trawling through historic objects and documents I came across an Italian coffee maker which had been brought to Australia in the 1800s as one of the essential items belonging to the migrating family.

As an immigrant myself and having already explored themes of ritual, coffee and hospitality, this object gave me a platform off which to base my research and concept. I was interested in exploring coffee as a unifying and central ritual to many of the diverse cultures which have now nestled themselves into Australian society.

After much research I narrowed my focus onto an Ethiopian Jebena, an Italian Macchinetta (not pictured, see Memorias), a Vietnamese Phin cà phê and a Turkish Cezve. These are just a few of the cultures in which coffee plays a large part in the community and hospitality rituals.

These pieces have been made by laminating layers of boxboard and then carving and sanding them into shape, coffee and ink were used for colouring.

Jebena

2012

Boxboard, glue, ink and coffee

Cezve

2012

Boxboard, glue, ink and coffee

Phin cà phê

2012

Boxboard, glue, ink and coffee

LITTLE MEMORIES

2010

Created for Wish You Were Here 2010 at Adelaide Central Gallery

Throughout my childhood, my family would travel to Argentina as soon as we could afford to.

These trips could be simultaneously bizarre, joyous and distressing.

I spent much of my childhood in Australia, growing accustomed to Australian culture and lifestyle while, through the efforts of my parents, retaining some essential South American rituals and practices.

During one of these trips as an adult, I began to photographically document the homes of my relatives, in particular those of my grandparents. This trip was after I had completed the body of work for my Honours project, which were based solely on the memories I had of their homes.

It was fascinating to see what I had remembered accurately and what were emotional memories which I had curated to fit the narratives in my mind.

These drawings were completed from photographs I had taken on this trip, which was the last time I saw and spent time with my maternal grandfather, Bruno (Nono).