Sculpture – stained porcelain, hand dyed & felted wool (fruits, berries, vegetables, spices, wine, tea, coffee), stainless steel, silver.
In position 20cm w x 28cm d x 18cm h & flat 89cm circumference x 65cm high
My process of felting and dying the wool, staining the clay and the time taken threading the work together gives me space to reflect upon the exploration of my themes leading me to examine our ability to place ourselves within a moment or memory whenever that may be, observing how this ability to recall, project and experience forms the backbone of our identity
‘I do’ illustrates the commitment my parents made to one another many years ago. until now they have travelled together through their seasonal shifts in life, laughing through their courting, always adoring, creating family, building friendships, having adventures… my mother is still in her summer/spring as my father slips into a winter of frozen moments inextricably bound, my mother’s loop is full of colour and life, dyed from many fruits, vegetables and spices. my father’s sombre palette is dyed solely with wine, tea, chilli and paprika – the things which give him joy apart from being with her. within both is the pink heartbeat anchoring them in this loss of self for him and loss of him for her. running through this is a deep and profound love for one another where they find moments of clarity and peace within a space that is fracturing as a family we are witnessing these ‘seasonal shifts’ through the shared narrative of my father’s dementia. he is entering a new phase, one where we cannot join him although we are always here when he visits
I do - Fiona McDonald
i am a multi disciplinary artist with a bachelor of art (graphic design) working across ceramics, illustration and weaving with a focus on ceramics. i have exhibited throughout australia in both group and solo exhibitions. within my exhibitions i often call for visitors to participate in creating a collaborative piece
memory, experience, slices of time. none of these are separate from the other. instead they are a layered and entwined narrative of the individual which in turn is woven through the lives of others. looped and linking us together, impossible to separate, creating a never ending collection of contemporaneous events in the past, the now and into the future
within my works, discs of porcelain and felted wool represent slices of time or memory. they communicate the way experience repeats through daily ritual, connecting us through lived experience and a collective consciousness
i am currently investigating this through the story of my father’s dementia and how his slow retreat affects both his reality and past lived experiences. in slow motion, both he and my mother are losing him in different ways