Increased standards of living take their toll on the biodiversity of this planet, as consumption increases, species become extinct. The dodo was the first recorded extinction of the modern world, discovered by Dutch sailors on the island of Mauritius in 1662 and extinct within 90 years.
In my work, dress becomes the metaphor for identity. This 17th century woman personifies Dutch society during this Golden Age of Exploration and Colonialism. She sips her advocaat cocktail, dressed in a beautiful gown. Her dress represents the extravagant consumption of exotic items demanded by the economically mobile European society. The cocktail represents socio economic materialism and wasteful consumption.
The economic and political paradigms that fuelled the race for Globalisation during the Golden Age continue today as multinational corporations strive for global dominance, increased consumerism and profits. The extinction of species is a given consequence of global progress and economic development. Biodiversity "is going the way of the dodo".
ceramic BRT clay underglazed and glazed
28 x 15 x 12 cm
Finalist
Judges of the 2013 Woollahra Small Sculpture Prize: Nick Mitzevich (Director of the Art Gallery of SA) and Professor Ian Howard (College of Fine Arts, UNSW).
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