Snow Black Angel, Colony, The Prospectors Palette
Author Identifier (ORCID)
Research Statement
Research Background
Encounters was an invited exhibition of contemporary international ceramic artists held at the KE Art Museum in Shanghai. The exhibition was curated by Zhou Peisheng. The theme of the exhibition stimulated individual responses to land, place and time through innovative approaches to the contemporary ceramic object.
Research Contribution
The 3 works exhibited derived from a lifelong interest in cross-media making that has socio-political commentary at its core. The found object, and particularly those that represent a universal utilitarian function such as the domestic plate, carry multiple meanings as an objet d’art that can multiply and mutate with time, acting as a container of memory in which new and inherited narratives can be re-imagined. The works utilised domestic ceramic plates as containers for collaged jigsaws which reference George Perec’s essays on fragmented memories and Keith Moxey’s theories of heterochronic time as metaphors for the incompleteness of politicised histories. My particular approach to the manipulation of found objects referenced such artists as Joseph Cornell and Marcel Duchamp, which in the Chinese context offered a socio-political commentary as an alternative to the predominantly craft-based approach to ceramic art production. Exposing histories that are grounded in inherent racism and hegemony proved timely in the zeitgeist of the BLM movement, which stimulated a dialogue around the re-setting of our social and political values toward the other. These works highlighted to a Chinese audience how colonial histories have whitewashed black culture in Australia—hence normalising prejudice and racism.
Research Significance
Westerly journal is WA's premier literary publication, established in 1956 and is listed in the world’s major cultural indexes. This edition (65.1) included work by writers across Australia and overseas. In 2018 this story was one of 13 shortlisted out of 863 entries for Victoria University/Overland short story competition. “The Last of its Kind” acknowledges Varuna, The National Writers House, and was produced during the author’s awarded 2018 Mick Dark Flagship Fellowship for Environmental Writing. Varuna, in Katoomba NSW, is a nationally renowned centre of excellence and provides retreats and support to Australian writers.
Non-Traditional Research Output
Original Creative Work
Document Type
Non-Traditional Research Output
Date of Publication
2020
Medium
Ceramic, Jigsaws, acrylic, Carborundum
Dimensions
3 works
Publisher
Zhou Peisheng (Producer)
School
School of Arts and Humanities / Centre for Research in Entertainment, Arts, Technology, Education and Communications
RAS ID
32900
Event Dates
November, 8 – December 5, 2020
Event Venue
KE Art Gallery Shanghai China
Comments
Barstow, C. (2020).Snow Black Angel, Colony, The Prospectors Palette. [Ceramic, Jigsaws, acrylic, Carborundum]. KE Art Gallery Shanghai China.