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.

VICTORIA!

VICTORIA!

Ocular Lab, Melbourne


curated by Elvis Richardson

I was thinking about the gold fields that established Melbourne, and researched Queen Vic and her coronation;

"After the Homage was concluded I left the Throne, took off my Crown and received the Sacrament; I then put on my Crown again, and re-ascended the Throne, leaning on Lord Melbourne's arm; at the commencement of the Anthem I descended from the Throne, and went into St Edward's Chapel ...where I took off the Dalmatic robe, Supertunica, and put on the Purple Velvet Kirtle and Mantle, and proceeded again to the Throne, which I ascended leaning on Lord Melbourne's hand ... I then again descended from the Throne, and repaired with all the Peers bearing the Regalia, my Ladies and Trainbearers,to St Edward's Chapel, as it is called; but which, as Lord Melbourne said, was more unlike a Chapel than anything he had ever seen; for, what was called an Altar was covered with sandwiches, bottles of wine etc. The Archbishop came in and ought to have delivered the Orb to me, but I had already got it…The Queen of Hawaii gave me a present of very rare feathers, but very strangely arranged as a wreath about my monogram, also in feathers on a black ground, framed." From Queen Victoria's diaries online

I have seen Queen Vic's clothes and although she was much shorter than I, as she grew older we filled about the same space. Also, when I was in London I visited the Royal Albert Hall, and the monument to her lost and beloved Albert, which amazed me. I spent many hours in the Victoria and Albert Museum and believe it is my spiritual home. For the opening I made real cucumber sandwiches, and shandies.

Fear Not

A shrine to all women 2005, based on the piece by James Hampton, The Throne of the Third Heaven of the Nations' Millennium General Assembly. Hampton had spent his lifetime as a janitor, but when he died, they found he had created a wondrous installation of artifacts, wrapped in tin foil. It is the most remarkable endeavour, absolutely fantastic, and he died without being recognised. This show, curated by DJ Robert Lake called Seven Beauties entails seven hard working artist women who play together and have social ties in and out of the art world. He curated it based on this.

I collected objects from all the women in the show; Lisa Andrew, Mishka Borowski, Sadie Chandler, Maria Cruz, Elizabeth Day, Elizabeth Pulie and wrapped these, as well as domestic objects and ephemera, to create a dazzling montage. I am in love with chocolate, and the wrapping really reflected that, but I also remember when I was young, my father (single after my mother's death) was a swinging bachelor, and he wallpapered his bedroom with aluminium foil. Installing these objects into this shrine formation on an upturned tabletop filled with water added to the reflective qualities, and also happened to host a colony of mosquito larvae for the duration of the show! I had been looking at the Taj Mahal, and was mightily impressed.Fear Not was borrowed from Hampton as well. It seemed a fitting epithet for a group of women all singularly trying to make it in the art world.