Olfactus I, II, III, 2008, hand made hibiscus paper, kozo paper, Jarrah frame and other things, 3 panels, 134 x 67 cm each

Photography by Jane Allen

ARTIST STATEMENT

What inspired me to work on the subject of perfume is the non literal approach to the theme of the whale and perfume. By this I mean the extraordinary process of transformation from a sea creature to a sensorial art form, a botanical bouquet where the sea meets the land.  Each paper jar is made from hibiscus fibre, a very evocative flower due to its shape and the tropical exoticism idea of its origins. In each jar there is an abstract representation of nature, a wearable scented garden, exotic, tropical and sensual. Each jar is a unique floral composition, an imaginary bouquet of imaginary flowers inspired by nature, like a palette of an artist, to compose a perfume. The 3 frames are made of Jarrah timber, a reminder of the perfume cabinet.

Ex-île, 2007/09
Work in NSW, Victoria, Queensland, National Library and Stanmore University Library, USA

Collaboration Nathalie Hartog-Gautier, Penelope Lee and author Daniel Maximin.

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Photography by John Lee

Invisible Pathway of Words 2000-01
Photography by Janny Grant and Nathalie Hartog-Gautier
Perspex, 120 x 233 cm

Of Global Appearance 2001
Photography by Marinco Kojdanovski and John Lee

The eight prints are my interpretation of the process of migration. The key plate “Cartographie” (which is present in all the prints) is mapping of words. I have enlarged, reduced, half erased and cramped words together, thereby changing the density of the lines. Like the lines used to grade landscape, these grade language. The colours have their own stories: red for pain and passion, black is what one doesn’t want to talk about, and white is the unsaid and the undone. Yellow is the colour of the flag raised by ships when they had an illness on board. The etchings of symbols on the prints were those used to register the severity and type of scars on the body. The square, circle and the cross are also used across cultures to describe physical and mental spaces. The screen print of bricks and mortar “S’etablir” relates to the choice people make when migrating to Australia to establish themselves in the hope of a better life.