Speaking with Alizon

Speaking with Alizon 2021

bull kelp, bullet belt, steel wool 

Caboolture Regional Art Gallery   

Image: Courtesy the artist

 

In the work: Speaking with Alizon, histories are intertwined by using harsh, industrial steel wool and a threatening bullet-belt, in conjunction with the robust cultural material of bull kelp. I speak of the memories of my mother who disappeared and supposedly “travelled away” when I was just a child. Hidden histories of the Australian colonial experience are subtly revealed through a buried bullet belt and this confronting object brings to the surface stories and events surrounding despair and survival.