The Weight of my Culture (cups) is the second work that I have developed using coffee cups that i have been collecting from family members in Mildura – mostly from broken and old used sets. These new works are more about using objects and elements of nature that already evoke memory and then imbuing them with another more personal layer. In a way these works are actually more personal than the drawings as they are more intimate in scale and also more reflective in process and intent.
This second work has includes three sardines. The sardine is the fish out of water, a symbol that I have been using for years to represent my parents’ migration from Italy to Australia. I use the sardines either individually or in threes to represent each parent and myself.
Weight of my Culture (cups), ceramics, gouache and wooden base, 27h x 22w x 22d cm.
Detail, Weight of my Culture (cups), ceramics, gouache and wooden base, 27h x 22w x 22d cm.
Detail, Weight of my Culture (cups), ceramics, gouache and wooden base, 27h x 22w x 22d cm.
Detail, Weight of my Culture (cups), ceramics, gouache and wooden base, 27h x 22w x 22d cm.
Weight of my Culture (cups), ceramics, gouache and wooden base, 27h x 22w x 22d cm.