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 ROOTS, 2024.

Slipcast terracotta containing stone, tarnished bronze, burnt wheat and burnt timber. H55 x W75 x D75cm.\

My practice centres on long-term and large-scale works that are heavily informed by the making and reception of smaller sculptures such as this, where the dynamics of process, materiality and imagery signify the development of multiyear works, some that will take decades to complete. In this instance, the work explores a branch of my practice reckoning with ancestral ties to a family of 9, who were among the first so called ‘free settlers’ of this country.  

A central inquiry here is how materials including ceramic, stone, bronze and timber echo dark legacies of colonisation through their commonplace utility to the built environment as well as their use for monuments of remembrance. Beyond the material and representational specifics of the work is a deconstructive process that looks toward the larger works I have in development, wondering how making something contributes to deeper understanding, and where it stands in relationship to deep time.

Photography: Dan Elborne.