Nineteenth International Conference on the Arts in Society

Abstract

My art-practice of over 30 years has led me at times, to an entanglement with the metallic. I partially blame this on the metal seams which run deep in the earth of Australia - the country where I live. Engaging materiality and my embodied experiences, I become aware through my art practice over time, of how metals have been mined and formed into: clothing, tools, devices, body parts, building structures, furniture, gadgets and automobiles - with some even choosing to eat metal (gold leaf). My fascination with this human interrelationship and dependence on metals has resulted us being, what I term, Metal People. In this paper I chart and explain my progress through over a decade of my art practice to show how and why the Metal People project evolved through entanglements with and of the metallic. I point out the strange ways in which metals sustain us! An exhibition of key works and recent works from this project will be exhibited and discussed. One example from my practice, is how images from painting and drawings “demanded” to be made into steel sculptural form. Another example is how knitting and crocheting with metal thread over many years, resulted in new imagery emerging (including human clothing and bodies) which had deep embodied meaning for my place/identity, space/bodies and the human condition. My aim is to share this work and concepts but also share insight to this methodology of arts-led and informed practice, from which the Metal People project has emerged.