The slowing of time, of thought, and community movement transformed gardens and reserves into sanctuaries in 2020. In the absence of construction and technology, park flowers, such as waratahs, trigger the despair of the Anthropocene. As tall waratah storks lean towards a river with the weight of their inflorescence, a dialogue between artist, materials and place is sort. Looking at local flowers first-hand and experiencing the trails in Ku-ring-gai Chase National Park that is close to my studio in Terrey Hills is central to my art process. I magnify the scale of native flowers in clay, finding idiosyncrasies of individual plants to express in my sculptures. Textures and patterns are inscribed directly from nature onto clay petals, so the environment directly influences the finished work.
Waratah Emblem is a monumental style, stoneware flower influenced by idealised botanical forms in art and design history, and represents a sense of wilderness as well as courage, resilience, and tenacity that the waratah is associated with.
stoneware
16 x 25 x 23 cm
Finalist
Michelle Perrett, in conversation with Professor Ian Howard, discusses her work Waratah Emblem. Recorded on 6 November 2021 at the 20th Anniversary Woollahra Small Sculpture Prize exhibition, Woollahra Gallery at Redleaf.
Judges of the 20th Anniversary Woollahra Small Sculpture Prize: Dr Lara Strongman (Director Curatorial and Digital, Museum of Contemporary Art Australia), Joanna Capon OAM (Art Historian, Curator and Industrial Archaeologist) and Jenny Kee AO (Artist and Fashion Designer).
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