Carbon Shroud

Carbon Shroud may be described as a map, with a topographic structure appearing as aerial contours. However, as the title alludes, the work attempts to convey the fragile atmosphere enveloped in carbon that threatens life on this planet.

Like the use of charcoal in early cave drawings, the carbonization of delicate cotton thread in this work, through the process of pyrolysis, allows a carbon capture to take place highlighting the ability of cotton, or any organic material, to be sequestered into the earth rather than polluting the atmosphere.

The work received a Merit Award in the 2021 Parkin Drawing Prize, NZ Academy of Fine Arts, Wellington.

Casting the Net

I imagine beachcombing  along the tidal shores of the Tāmaki Estuary only to chance upon the derelict and decaying remnants of a fishing net cast adrift and well past its use by date. While the net offers the ability to sustain humankind, it also connotes a struggle for life. This dichotomy communicates the fragile entanglement of all living things and the urgent need to consider a carbon neutral future for the survival of our planet. The carbonization of cotton thread in this work, through the process of pyrolysis, allows a carbon capture to take place. This highlights the ability of cotton, as organic material, to be sequestered into the earth rather than polluting the atmosphere. The tattered remains of an ineffective net, evident in Casting the Net, seeks to navigate alternate paths that offer hope for our future generations.

Work selected as a finalist in the Estuary Art and Ecology Prize exhibition. Malcolm Smith Gallery, UXBRIDGE Arts & Culture, Howick, Auckland 3 July – 28 August

Diamond Mine

Solo exhibition

19 March – 10 April 2021

RDS Gallery

In a time of planetary instability and strain on natural resources, this body of work questions value by associating doilies with diamonds. Doilies can be readily sourced at Op shops. Their creation stems from meticulous, dedicated hours spent in the hands of unknown makers, usually women, for the comforts of their homes. Regarded as desirable, diamonds, on the other hand can pass down family generations holding their value. Through both recreating (Diamond Mine series) and recycling second-hand doilies (Diamond Dust series), they go through a process of carbonization. Diamonds bond as carbon under immense pressure, time and heat. This experimental work producing carbon by fire and subjected to pressure through a printing press, as I see it, simulates the elemental process that produces diamonds.

Medium: Carbonised cotton, nori rice paste on Hahnemühle paper

Paper size 500x370mm

Catalogue can be viewed at RDS Gallery

Essays by Hilary Radner and Bridie Lonie