Dungog by Design “In the Frame” presents “The Last Drop” and “The Dry” by Anne Morris (Fisher) for the month of March.
Artist Statement.
“The bowls in these pieces represent the earth’s tentative relationship with water.
Usable water is an essential element for life and sets the earth apart from other planets in our solar system.
The balance of our ecosystem is threatened by rising sea levels; shrinking bodies of ice; and extreme weather events causing droughts and floods. Salination, deforestation, overpopulation, increased pollution and wasteful use of water will cause an insufficient supply. Inequitable distribution of water throughout the world places the stability of our geopolitical landscape at risk.
Access to clean water is essential to our future on earth.
Coiled and stitched cotton rope, cotton fabric, cotton thread.
“The Last Drop” – 64 “bowls” ranging in size 10-16cm in diameter, up to 8cm in depth.
“The Dry” – 46cm X 26cm
Just before our 2020 lockdown I learned this stitching technique from a craftswoman friend and then at an aboriginal workshop (run by Speaking in Colour) at Maitland Regional Art Gallery. Although I love the useful items that can be made this way my training as a sculptor at Canberra School of Art and the Victorian College of the Arts, plus my deep concern for our environmental future suggested other possibilities.
The arts can be such an effective way of drawing people’s attention to an issue while being aesthetically interesting. My sculptures in the past explored traditional female needleart techniques in a decorative way but I saw new potential.
The recycled cotton was sourced from op shops and garage sales – remnants, old sheets, pillow slips and tablecloths. The thread was also found while rummaging around in the thread and wool bins.
The vessels in “The Last Drop” are symbolic of the multiple sources from which we get our water, with one last drop falling from each. I enjoyed playing with the rich variations in blues that water suggests.
Despite my sculpture training most of my working life was as a community artist, from 1977 primarily coordinating community based murals. These projects were carried out throughout Australia in a variety of urban, industrial and rural environments, and in China 1986 & 1988 through a Cultural Exchange programme. Other notable projects were painted with the workers of the Williamstown Naval Dockyards Vic and Freemantle Port Authority WA, the indigenous community of Ngunmarriyunga NT, and for Amnesty International ACT.”
Dungog By Design, 224 Dowling St, Dungog.
Dungog by Design is open
- Wednesday to Friday 10am – 4pm,
- Saturday & Sunday 9am – 3pm
Exhibition closes the end of March 2024.
For more details please visit Facebook
Photo courtesy of Anne Morris (Fisher) and Dungog By Design.