Plastics ONO

Oh dear, the light in the garbage can isn't on, it should be!

Hard Rubbish 2013

As part of the exhibition Camouflage at Sydney College of the Arts. This piece contains found, made, collected, altered and assembled material objects. There were 450 items in total.

On the floor I spelt out "THIS IS A PAINTING" in objects.

Trashcan Dreams

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October 2010
Trashcan Dreams at The Performance Space
with dancers Morisan Yasuaki and Lina Ritchie
The title comes from an Elton John song; Mona Lisa and Mad Hatters
There were many elements to this exhibition, primarily I was responding to the site with my collection and with pieces that would provide an environment to respond to. The dancers, from Japan, worked in collaboration with the materials, over a nine day intense period, where we explored a huge variety of movement.
The work consisted of vast quantities of plastic collected over the last ten years from my local neighbours and friends. Many of the plastics were re-cycled from other exhibitions, being re-fashioned for this event.
The piece I am most proud of; Kyoto copy was made entirely of plastics and is a literal copy of a piece I saw in Kyoto in 2009.


Working with colour, materials, video and objects, interacting with the space and reacting to site-specific as well as historical contexts within the site.

Rectangular dance workshops with participants

Red white and blue

Re-scheduled work; Have we found paradise? This world of plenty where 1/4 of the world consume 3/4 of the resources. Shocking shit out there. I joke that if the water levels rise, my works would all float. I often wonder what will happen to plastics in landfill over millions of years. This work is a couple of years old, and only the ABC shop bags have deteriorated.
I would like to cover a giant field with logos, I loved the AIDS quilt, and the mass of decoration as well as commemoration.

Greening Australia

Top: install view

Bottom: detail

Do you see "Free Duty" on the right image? Thats from some airport bag I had been given, and I love it. I have worked with Duty Free bags for a number of years. I like the notions of duty as a concept. What is your duty? What are ours? I know 'duty free' has to do with tarifs and thereby involves a monetary system, but I think it illustrates so much more. Trade and exchange of goods delegate our lives, consumer culture and monetary systems regulate our time. Here I am collecting all these green plastic bags, the scraps too beautiful to throw away...the greens captivate me. My duty is to be captivated! I am such a product of this culture!

Plastics

Here is my plastic bag collection.
Photo: Margaret Roberts

1. I love the way plastics can be bundled up, and squashed, then laid out again and re-flattened. They have a memory, physically, and can become impregnated with scents. I notice very few used bags in our affluent society. Occasionally someone on the train will have their trusty favourite that they use regularly, and you can see how the colour has evaporated around the handles, however it is quite rare.
2. I was asked recently why I focused on plastics. Perhaps because I grew up in the USA and was a victim of polyester! For sure because of the environmental impact, but also because they symbolise our affluence, and neglect as well. But growing up in New York city in the 70's and 80's there were various artists who made sculptural works in abandoned lots, using garbage they'd create fantastic art works. I found these very inspirational. I would watch the barges go down the East River laden with millions of bags of rubbish. Even as a child I was incredulous that these got dumped out at sea. Sick! The synthetic nature of petrochemicals and their impact on our everyday life is one that I am examining.
3. Maybe Christo has something to do with it? Or Jeff Wall? Later, in the 90's I saw work by Mikala Dwyer and Hany Armonious. I knew I was amongst friends. Nowadays I can list dozens of artists, just locals who work with the stuff, and I love it. Anne Kay! Josie Cavallaro! Lisa Kelly! Kathy Cavaliere! Simon Yates! Simon Cavanough! Nick Strike! Caz Haswell! Jason Markou! Michelle Hanlin!

Excess

Excess 2007
found fabrics, trestle table, Lisa Andrew's borrowed sewing machine, photocopy

At SNO, curated by Billy Gruner with Margaret Roberts (pictured).

Photo Sue Pedley

Colour world, it appears as though you could just step in the room, whereas in fact, you never got out from behind the continuous curtain, I made holes for seeing through every now and then. It was fun, and felt like a big playroom, or being in a giant dress.

Red

The colour red is much espoused upon. Personally I have always loved it. I chose red paint for my room at one stage, and was designated red as a child, while my sister got dark blue. I love all bright colours but red has a particular hold on me. It is symbolic and loaded with significance, and is so easy to spot! It glows with it's own warmth, and is considered a primary colour. In my darkroom days, red was the first colour I worked with.

By collecting together red objects and fashioning a red installation I was thinking of Louise Nevelson, and also the synchronicity of my finds. As soon as I started looking out for objects of that colour, they came to me. I would walk to the Gallery and find a red book, or scarf. I went to someone's house and they'd give me a red thing. It all worked together. I painted on a bucket little electrical pylons, but otherwise just removed any colour that wasn't right.

As I sit here typing I look at my red glass water cup. The light travels through it and I am entranced. When I'm in a car, behind the brake lights of other cars, I am delighted. The red traffic lights, STOP, glow so readily. I loved Emil Goh's following red video piece. I would like to gather together all red cars, but found Nina Katchedorian already did it! I went to a butterfly farm wearing red and the butterflies were so all over me. And once, when I was going to post a letter, I nearly mistook a woman wearing pillar box red with a post box! When I go bush, I love wearing red. It's the opposite to green! My therapist likes talking about why I love red. Recently, my sister made a video of our old home movies and gave me a copy. I had never seen the footage and in it, my deceased little sister was running around the garden all in red. Perhaps I am honouring her memory. Perhaps when we are in the womb, it is all red around us, and the redness that glows is so primal. One day I want to have a red party and invite all the red enthusiasts for a red blast.

Shelves

Using the existing shelving

1. Twigs grown in my garden hot glued together.

2. Styrofoam ball floating on pool of water contained in a plastic bag resting on my yellow t-shirt.

3-4 Bakers clay with blue food colouring, mini mountains with architectural features ( retro model houses).

5-6 Fairy lights under red plastic bag

Sunrise

Install view

Sunrise 2004 Install detail
Josie Cavallaro, Lisa Kelly and I shared a studio at 16 Pidcock Camperdown for about five years. Marrickville Council runs Chrissie Cotter Gallery just down the road, with a Bowling club, and a tennis centre. We decided to do a show together. My work, The doctor is in, was playing with all sorts of ideas.
Sunrise
This portion contains a collection of pink materials, offset by a flouro flag (kindly donated by Josie) draped off a plinth. On the plinth were small offerings, sweet honeysuckle, some food and a candle. The bright blue table was found and I painted it. It had been used for years as a palette and was hugely bumpy. It is a painting. These found Australian coins had rusted in a jar, and formed a centerpiece. I keep coming back to money over the years. The inference of transactions. Symbolising exchange, wealth and my desire for money. That one and two cent pieces were discontinued (I still find this radical), and nowadays people will step over a 5c coin on the street (some people).
Money on the table: gambling? voodoo? bribes? illegal activity? I have a well cultivated reaction to money. From the thousands of images I have seen of greenback-filled suitcases to my personal desire for enough money to live on, money is a huge part of our society. I dream of cash, literally. Wads of it. When I was little I would take money and steal. I'd throw the money on the ground and pretend to find it. Who doesn't love finding money?
Capitalism. What a loaded gun, the temptation for money. What we'd do for money. As a kid, I used to hang out after school asking for bus fare money from strangers. I am not proud of this, but it was something I did to get money for sweets. One man turned out his pockets and he had only 35cents and a little charm. He held it out to me in his palm, offering it all to me, and I was shocked, he had so little and he was willing to give it to me. I turned it down and felt so ashamed.
I was in Paris in 2000, waiting in a queue outside a gallery. It was freezing cold, and the wait was long. A homeless fellow was gleaning money from the crowd, and when he got to us, we gave him some cash and he flipped out and threw the cash onto the street and yelled incomprehensibly and stormed off. We gathered the money and left it on the ledge for him, it was like 100 Franks. His action was so unexpected. He humiliated us.
The doctor is in refers to the psychiatrist's office. I was sent to analysts/psych since I was about eight years old. I have always loved them. A formal exchange where you have someone to talk to who doesn't judge you, and who can illuminate your ways of thinking about things and coping with emotion.