Crowns & Spill detail 2023

Crowns 2023

5 crowns of variable sizes from 22x18 to 9 x 12cm.
Hand pierced with 26 houses on repurposed anodised aluminium canisters. 

Spill 2023

Repurposed anodised aluminium containers, paint and sterling silver & steel; individually chased & repoussé, rolled, hydraulic pressed and pierced.

195 x 120cm

The series Crowns created from aluminium canisters relate to those containers in which my mother stored household staples. I transformed the canisters into various crown designs, with the smallest resembling a turreted mural crown. I was intrigued by the relationship between the number of turrets in a crown and the number of homes under the control of the crowned monarch – a concept not dissimilar to contemporary British royalty. In my Crowns series, I painstakingly hand-cut representations of the 22 homes I have lived in, incorporating symbols of my heritage.

The series Crowns and Spilt are intertwined. I frequent op shops and when I encounter aluminium canisters, it triggers a childhood memory. The artwork Spilt shares that recollection: the day a kookaburra unknowingly entered our kitchen through the chimney. In its panic, the bird knocked over the canisters, scattering their contents across the floor, much to the delight of my twin and I as we watched through the window.

Within Spilt I utilised techniques borrowed from jewellery making, employing meticulous skills such as piercing, rolling, chasing, repoussé* and hydraulically pressing textures into the octagonal aluminium shapes. This extensive process was cathartic as I reminisced.

 The accidental scrapes and marks on the media hold significance to me as they expose evidence of natural wear from years of human handling. Collecting and sorting these objects is enjoyable as it allows me to acquaint myself with their ghostly memories that have accumulated over time.

Image credit: Amanda Galea