Sculpture installations
1. Baitfish Ball
90cm diameter
Repurposed Chinese painting and calligraphy on Xuan paper, wax, wires, hot glue and chicken wire armature, 2017
2. Baitfish Wall (flexible installation)
110cm(h) x 180cm(l) x 90cm(w)
Repurposed Chinese paintings & calligraphy on Xuan paper, wires, 2017
My sculpture installations are comments on fish life/overfishing, in particular bait fish. Both pipis and a variety of small fishes are used as bait. They are also used in canning and as seafood derivatives. Hence they are harvested in large quantities by commercial fisheries. Their depletion in turn affects the ocean food chain.
When threatened by predators in nature by large fish such as sharks, baitfish form into large balls or schools to fool their predators in order to protect themselves. My sculptures depict these forms. When installed in the gallery, the viewers become predators in the midst of this sculptural installation.
2min/6:30 minutes
music: Philip Glass
“A fish out of water” suggests a sense of disconnectedness and vulnerability. The rise of right-wing politics amplified these feelings for many people who have adopted new homelands. Like Pipi, the unspectacular and benign bivalve from the North Coast of New South Wales, one can withdraw into a shell whenever threatened. The video also places Pipi, an out of place entity, in recognisable urban locations and at home on the beach at ebb tide. The purpose is to evoke shared memories and experiences with audiences. In a tragi-comic way Pipi arouses empathy and reflection.
Participatory sculptural installation
‘Participate’
5 x 150cm x 90cm foam core boards, acrylic paint, 2017
This is a participatory piece, my tongue-in-cheek comment on and contribution to current public galleries and museums funding policies in Australia, which encourage artworks to appeal to broad audiences and across age groups.
The installation is five foam board cutouts of ‘Pipi’, four with feet and one without. It invites viewers to have their photos taken standing behind the cutout, with only their feet visible. This is reminiscent of tourist attractions where one can insert ones face into painted scenes. Except that in this case it is the anonymous and much underrated feet instead of faces. The emphasis is on the less obvious parts of our body/environment which as just as vital as the more recognisable/spectacular.
Chinese ink & watercolour on Xuan paper
76cm x 102cm
Chinese ink & watercolour on Xuan paper
76cm x 102cm
Chinese ink & watercolour on Xuan paper
76cm x 102cm
Chinese ink & watercolour on Xuan paper
61cm x 76cm
Chinese ink & watercolour on Xuan paper
61cm x 76cm