Untitled (Desert Snake)

2020

Materials: Porcelain, sterling silver

Model: Cameron Herbert

Photography: Nicole Fang

Make-up Artistry: Gaetana Marjas

Hair: Ash Weller

Exhibited for ‘Small Connections’ at Craft ACT, 2021

Beading is a universal language that transcends cultures, communicating a plethora of information around place, identity, status and history.

This work looks at traditional adornment in a contemporary context. The slow and repetitive methods of arranging, preparing and stringing relies heavily on the body and the hands. These repetitive, intimate and ritualistic methods helped me to form strong connections to the land I was on and understand the history and identity of that place.

As my physical location shifts, the materials I have access to change and inform the outcome. This work evolved as I began regularly working in Aboriginal Art Centres, and started to construct a narrative of Australia’s history through the lens of these communities; their people and their work. This includes constant critique and questioning of colonial structures, histories and spaces.