Body of Work
Carving Memories, 2018-2019
Carving Memories is a body of work consisting of three unique print installations that use the exploration of carving styles to create repetitive lines and forms. These work stem from the creation of my artwork, Storyline (2017-2018) which was formed during my last semester of university. Storyline is created to have no ending. Each line carved represents a feeling, a memory, a relationship that entwines and evolves through creative exploration of my natural environment.
Since my work, Storyline was a finalist in the National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Art Awards (NATSIAA) in 2018, I continued to develop the conceptual and technical approaches of this piece through the Carving Memories series.
Image: Carving Memories series, displayed at May 2021 solo exhibition, Redland Regional Art Gallery (Cleveland, Queensland). Photo: Courtesy of Redland Regional Art Gallery.
Photo: Louis Lim. Courtesy of the artist and Onespace Gallery.
Carving Memories: a new dialect, 2018.
Vinyl-cut on Hahnemühle paper. 55 x 130cm (full diptych). Edition of 5.
Carving Memories: a new dialect develops imagery focusing on observations of organic patterns and forms. The flora of my natural surroundings portrayed in the work captures memories, resonating moments that offer glimpses of my experiences; these are not static but have grown and evolved along with my changing environment. As the first piece of the Carving Memories series, the investigation of irregularity of line, form and direction acts as a catalyst to represent the fluidity of these experiences. Brought up in Western communities, I have struggled with notions of identity and my creative practice has played a central role in connecting with indigenous culture. My passion towards printmaking and a deeper connection to my heritage has encouraged me to explore expression through carved line as a way to represent story, place, memories and relationships.
This artwork was selected as a finalist for the Haugesund International Festival for Artistic Relief Print at the Haugesund Art Gallery (Norway) in 2019, as well as being acquired by the Griffith University Art Museum and Moreton Bay Regional Council.
Carving Memories: propagation by roots, 2019.
Vinyl-cut on Hahnemühle paper. 200 x 275cm (whole installation). Edition of 3. Photo: Louis Lim. Courtesy of Onespace Gallery.
Since I was young I have always been intrigued by the intricate patterns that can be found within minute areas of native flora. Reflecting back on what made me most curious as a child, it was the interconnectivity apparent in the natural world. Carving Memories: propagation by roots focuses on a motif of minute flora that emerged from my childhood curiosity and has frequently reoccurred in my practice. It pays homage to a motif that has influenced and inspired the creative expression of my personal connection to Brisbane’s natural environment. The large scale of this work brings into focus minute aspects of nature that often go unnoticed. When people look at my artwork, I’d like them to get lost in the line and patterns that make up the imagery, stepping back to view the whole but also to engage in a more intimate way when they move in close to explore the detail.
This artwork was awarded the Emerging Artist Award at the Cairns Indigenous Art Fair (CIAF) 2019 and a finalist in the National Works on Paper Awards 2020.
Above: Carving Memories: propagation by roots, 2019 (details). Photo: Louis Lim. Courtesy of the artist Onespace Gallery.
Image: Artist Talk at CIAF 2019. Photo: Courtesy of Onespace Gallery.
Image: CIAF 2019. Photo: Courtesy of Cairns Indigenous Art Fair.
Carving Memories: continued line, continued place, 2019.
Vinyl-cut on Hahnemühle paper. 200 x 28cm (full triptych installation). Edition of 3. Photo: Louis Lim. Courtesy of Onespace Gallery.
The strong, fluid line that travels across the panels in Carving Memories: continued line, continued place represents the continuation of story from one place to another. How we are influenced by our previous encounters can affect how we inform the rest of our path to grow. Throughout the carving process and exploration of organic forms, the piece creates its own language as the play of movement, rhythm and propagation of line work develops its own conversation. By shifting the horizon line within each of the pieces, it also shifts the proscribed perspective from which we’ve learned to view work. Each piece offers new ways into the intricate patterns and details of the tryptic, changing how the audience engages with the work; what is discovered, what is noticed.
This artwork debuted at ARTNOW NFQ 2019 and was acquired by the Australian Institute for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Studies (AIATSIS) in 2020.
Image details: Carving Memories: continued line, continued place, 2019. Photo: Carl Warner. Courtesy of Onespace Gallery
Listen to the judges walk through the finalists of NWOP 2020, which featured my artwork Carving Memories: propagation by roots.