Retrieve, Retreat is a collection of found vessels made up of cement, wood, various stones, metal, bricks, ceramic shards, glass, fabric, enamel paint, nails and ceramics.
Flags, logos, icons and signs are bonds that unite us. This work is conceived as a gathering of flotilla or an armada that contain physical documents amassed from near and far. They are displayed as a contemplative array of bodily islands (islands within islands).
As a collected whole it speaks of excavating and unearthing, as well as, acts of reconstruction. In this process I am examining the Japanese notion of ‘mono no aware’ or ‘the pathos of things’.
The lower north shore, where I lived, had mountainous waste days and it was easy to locate particular vessels and pieces that I envisioned for this work. The use of cement acts as both a conscious comment on material ownership and a reference to essential synthetic properties.
With Sydney Harbour as the backdrop this installation was part of the North Sydney Art Prize at the Coal Loader site, Balls Head.
morgan veness 