A few years ago I felt the necessity and had the privilege of time to study and to develop a framework for my practice. With many thanks, especially to Johanna Zellmer, my MFA supervisor, the Dunedin Art School community and my family, clarity around my practice slowly emerged. My studies opened up new possibilities for interacting with objects and things. For those new to my practice, I predominantly work with found objects, rubbish, trash, secondhand materials and things found while out and about in my daily life.
The theories of Vital Materialism, especially the work of Jane Bennett, but also including the work of Timothy Morton, Graham Harman and Tim Ingold all became relevant. Essentially, by considering all things, all materials, all objects, even plastic things, as having some form of its own agency, my interactions with such things started to change (this is a massive over simplification of some of the work). No longer was I, as the human, the one in charge in my studio, there were fellow conspirators. The premise that my attraction to these objects was not solely based on my tastes and attitudes, but that these objects might, in some way, find some way to attract me through various means, was intriguing and continues to be. I am a part of their story just as much as they might play a role in any narrative that I may construct.
These ideas were pretty radical to me and yet I think that radical thinking is needed in art and our broader community, one that is more caring, considerate of our environment, other species and possible futures.
My studio is now a place where I interact with objects, rather than force my will on them. Its is a place of wonderings and ‘what if’s’. Experiments are times of playing and learning, of being in conversation with all that is present. This brings new interactions and possibilities to the bench.
My practice now centres around a set intentions and a flexible quasi-process:
- USE ALL OF IT – with each material and/or object that is involved, use as much of it as possible, if not all of it, as a way to minimise waste from my creative practice.
- COLLECT WHAT REMAINS – creative practice creates remnants and waste that I now collect as much as possible, as it is as much a part of the work as the final pieces. I am still int the process of considering what to do with this accumulating pile of materials.
- BE PLAYFUL & FOLLOW INTUITION – even if it seems unlikely and ill-considered.
- USE WHAT IS AT HAND – there is no need for specialised tools in order to make. This provides opportunities for greater creativity and devising solutions to issues that may arise. It also acknowledges that the solutions already exist and are present and to not diminish my prior knowledge and experience by turning to more experienced practitioners for answers.
- DON’T ERASE THE MAKERS HAND – acknowledging that my hands are not the only instruments within this process that posses this ability to leave a mark.
My journey in Handshake 8 has provided many opportunities to continue these conversations and broadened the scope of contributors. The masterclasses with Estela Saez-Vilanova reinforced a playful approach and the brooches in this exhibition (Proof of Concept 2022) can be seen as playful experimentations with materials that I had laying around my studio. I live in a small coastal village in north Otago called Kakanui. At the beach here I am drawn to the types of pebbles and stones called conglomerates. Conglomerates are made up of multiple different types of stones, sediments and layers. They look as though they are held together by some sort of glue or binding material. The idea that different materials could be bound together by a single agent generated the search for binding agents. In these brooches, the binding agent thread. As Handshake 8 progresses, I hope to search for other materials that bind.
