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Seraph
Seraph
Seraph
Seraph
Seraph
Seraph
Seraph
Seraph
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2014

Seraph

Peculiar Annes (NSW)

Janet Parker-Smith (NSW)

Claude Jones (NSW)

Cleo Gardiner (NSW)

Artist Statement

“Some people talk to animals. Not many listen though. That's the problem.” A. A. Milne, Winnie the Pooh

Seraph is a work by the collective, The Peculiar Annes. It aims to engage the viewer in a dialogue that considers the human relationship with that of the non-human animal. This dialogue suggests a rethinking of the cultural positioning of animals in zoos, in testing laboratories, in agriculture as well as those in the shrinking wilderness, or deep within ourselves.

Our romantic ideal of human union with the natural world, conflicts with our contemporary exploitative and destructive relationship with the latter. Seraph explores the notion of the hybrid as a response to how animals adapt (or die) as a result of human interference. It borrows from myth, childhood stories, fables and cultural touchstones, to highlight the fact that our alliance with nature is fraught and uncomfortable.

Ultimately, Seraph, with its chimeric mingling of human and non-human animal, serves as a poignant reminder that we ourselves are also vulnerable to the destructive impact of our own actions.

About the Artist

Janet Parker-Smith is an Australian artist exhibiting her work across Australia in various galleries.

Claude Jones, originating from New Zealand, is now a Sydney based artist. She creates hybrid, mutant and anthropomorphised sculptures, prints, drawings and mixed media 2D images that question our complex and contradictory relationship with other animals. Claude Jones' website

Cleo Gardiner is an Australian artist with works in a number of collections.

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Materials

porcelain, paper, porcupine quills, squirrel tail, satin ribbon, wooden base, steel

Dimensions

46 x 20 x 14 cm

Merit

Finalist

Artist Talk

Judges

Judges of the 2014 Woollahra Small Sculpture Prize: Lisa Havilah (Director of Carriageworks), Justin Miller (International Art Advisor and former Chairman of Sotheby's Australia) and Gretel Packer (Arts Patron and Trustee of the Art Gallery of NSW).

Exhibition Guide

Download PDF (1.4 MB)

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Woollahra Gallery at Redleaf acknowledges that we are on the land of the Gadigal and Birrabirragal people, the traditional custodians of the land. We pay our respects to Elders past, present and emerging.