Artist statement

72% of Australians currently live in a major city or urban environment, meaning that just over a quarter of Australians live in rural environments, ranging from inner regional to very remote areas. In *Lay of the Land*, the use of woven, structural wire connects to personal and cultural contexts as it is a significant material in rural environments. The series of five sculptures represents the components or layers of a map, deconstructed to demonstrate the complexities that one can experience when living on the land. Each sculpture shows one of the components: pipeline (orange), main roads (black), waterways (blue), grazing (green) and cultivation (pink). Using wire as the base structure, the sculptures trace the borders and fence lines of my home property, Arcturus Downs, but moulded in such a way so that each appears different. These differences make visible how environments can change due to their surrounding conditions.

Process

Deconstructing the layers of a map of my home property, Arcturus Downs in Central Queensland, I moulded wire to form the structural shape of the map. Using the wire form as a base structure, each individual sculpture has been warped to follow the borders and fence lines of the property. Working on top of this structure, I threaded and wove a different coloured string on each sculpture to communicate a different component of the map - pipelines, main roads, waterways, grazing and cultivation.

About the artist

Originally I am from a property near Springsure in Central Queensland and was a boarder at Somerville House from Year 7. Throughout my art making process I have liked exploring new and different ways of representing where I am from and the places I call Home. Through my exploration in Year 12, I have expanded my interests to using found objects and materials to form sculptures and artistic forms to represent my Home, whilst trying to communicate some of my personal experiences.