Hello again! First things first, I am absolutely gratful to Casula Powerhouse Arts Centre for including my work in their online collection. And it is not just for being included in their online collaboration with Google Arts & Culture. My gratitude is also for being reminded that, back in the day, everyone at the Powerhouse, the community, the AECG Mil-Pra, the artists, were a really groovy, hard working & welcoming bunch, who made you feel part of the community and something big. That my work was included back then, to me was both community & creative validation. These exhibitions, helped build my confidence and my practice. It was always exciting to exhibit & do work for the exhibtions. Having my work included in this collection, makes me think, these things live on at the Powerhouse.
I remember how it felt to make these works and the feel of pastel on my fingers. They’re more about the human spirit and finding connection to ancestry and land, rather than about our humanity in the modern world. Having said that, I remember these works and that it was an emptiness in the modern world that fuelled me to draw this series. The whole thing is complicated by the medium – modern world materials to try to illustrate the search for connection with an ancient culture, ancestors and spirit. In short, hold on to the spirit within and the spirit of family and community because no matter what paths we take in life, I like to think we will all find our Belonging.
Although these works may not intially seem connected to my character, Sister GlitterNullius,
There are enduring themes of identity and Indigeneity, entangled, complex relationships, failure and fragility between my early and current work. Today these are contextualised within decolonisation frameworks, Indigenous cultural revitalisation, simultaneously responding to environmental crisis. One of my practice goals is to create projects that prioritise collaborative solutions, shared knowledges, social engagement with challenging, complex issues. I hope to contribute to community capacity and strengthened relationships through performances, storytelling short videos and workshops.
Sister GlitterNullius is the post-traumatic, recovering personification and representation of the hypocrisy dilemma that is the Anthropocene. A nun, imprisoned by her love-hate relationship with plastix and all things, consumerist, capitalist, catholic and post-colonial. Through humour, irony, and a pinch of sarcasm, GlitterNullius stands with the in-betweeners, the failures and the lost, trying to navigate a greener decolonised path Home. Can someone lend her a map?
Perhaps then, the issues I explore in my practice remain fundamentally similar, if not the same in some ways.
Thankyou for visiting!
Your Friend in & out of plastix!
Juundaal
