Alba

leucos

a textile exhibition in white

Beyond BordersJenny Mulcahy

Umbrella Studio Contemporary Arts482 Flinders Street | PO Box 2394, Townsville, QLD, 4810Ph/ Fax: (07) 4772 7109 | admin@umbrella.org.au | www.umbrella.org.au Opening Hours: Monday to Friday 9am - 5pm & Sunday 9am - 1pm

Beyond BordersUmbrella Studio Contemporary Arts 30 September - 6 November 2011

Ceramic and mixed media works which explore the universal human emotional connections to place and to the seemingly mundane objects of daily life.

umbrellastudio contemporary arts

Above: Aunt Bet had lots of teapots but she only ever used the blue Front Cover: 400 Grams - Photo, L. Middleton

Photo, L. Middleton

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Beyond Borders explores the commonality of our human relationship with place, and our emotional attachment to the objects with which we surround ourselves. No matter our country of birth, our ethnicity, the colour of our skin, our religious affiliations, our height, age, weight or gender, our memories, unique to each of us, bind us to our past and influence our future.

Some memories, buried so very deep in our psyches you would imagine them beyond recall, can be jolted suddenly, and sometimes traumatically, to the present by a mere glimpse of what may appear to others as a mundane object of no consequence.

Izzie’s favourite pale green bowl Photo, L. Middleton

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This recognition of the emotional attachment to objects felt by each other as individuals is something we can all relate to. We understand the way in which the sight or touch of items which appear of no significance to others can cause memories of people and places to come flooding back, and when in the media, we witness victims of natural disasters returning to the place their homes once stood, we can empathise with the survivors as we see them searching desperately for something, anything, that binds them to that which they have so suddenly lost.

I remember as a child watching countless old American westerns where wagon trains wended their way through ever harsher landscapes, lightening their loads as they went by shedding much loved items of furniture. The grief this caused the settlers was apparent as many had carefully carried these items with them from their country of origin. Their grief was not just for the discarded furniture, but for the memories of home and family that were embedded by association.

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Frequently these associations are strongest with items used on a daily basis. In my family, this seems to have largely focused on ceramics with members of the various generations all laying claim to their favourite cup, plate, bowl or teapot, and Heaven help anyone who misappropriated the favourite! From my observation of friends, this is not unique to my family but seems a universal trait. The Kitchen Series pays homage to those favourite pieces we all adore.

A potter friend of mine gave her daughter a teapot she had made. Later, after her daughter’s home was destroyed in Victoria’s Black Saturday bushfires they were searching through the rubble and discovered the teapot, a little warped but still intact. On the other side of the world, another disaster, this time man-made, saw Hakima’s kitchen in Badula Qulp destroyed by missile fire, again, her ceramics survived.

This resilience of the ceramic medium is further celebrated in the Dialogue of Bottles, where the spirit of clay, formed by human hands is further strengthened by fire and able to withstand the ravages of time and civilization.

Aunt Rose’s favourite cup was very plain.... ‘but a goody’, she said Photo, L. Middleton

Glenn’s daughter’s kitchen (1) Photo, R. Gauld

Dialogue of bottles (detail) Photo, R. Gauld

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The earliest clay bowls discovered by archaeologists were those made in the New Stone Age. Very similar in shape as those we use today their purpose was the same ... a receptacle for food. This intrinsic linking of ceramics with food is universal. Meal times, when family and friends come together to share sustenance and discuss the day’s happenings is shared by all cultures no matter how meagre or celebratory the offerings.

One hundred bowls to feed one hundred souls Photo, R. Gauld

Detail Photo, L. Middleton

The work, One hundred bowls to feed one hundred souls, pays homage to the importance of the humble bowl in our lives. Each bowl is of a size to hold the daily (uncooked) food ration of 400gms of rice or cornmeal, and 60gms of lentils, which, along with 50gms oil and 5gms salt contains enough calories to sustain human life and is what those in many refugee camps subsist on (ref U.N. Refugee Agency).

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I watch the news, I read the newspapers, I read my email, all of which at times seems swamped with the utter misery of the many millions of displaced people in our world today, and I simply cannot comprehend what it would be like to be one of them........... To leave home in the morning and find you are never able to go back, to possess nothing other than what you have on. Seeking Gondwana references all of those who have travelled by sea seeking a new start and sanctuary in this land we share.

J.K. Mulcahy 2011

Seeking Gondwana

Photo, R. Gauld

Photo, R. Gauld

Seeking Gondwana (detail)

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Dr Jenny Mulcahy Curriculum Vitae 2011 (abbreviated version)

Education

2001- 2009 PhD in Creative Arts, James Cook University, Townsville 2004 Post Graduate Certificate of Tertiary Education, James Cook University1994 – 95 Graduate Diploma of Visual Art Monash University.1983 – 84 Diploma Fine Art T.A.F.E. Townsville 1981 – 82 Diploma Visual Arts W.I.A.E., Warrnambool, Vic.

Public Art and Commissions

2004 Burdekin Seed Pod Outdoor mosaic for the Burdekin Shire Council2001 9 Smiling Fish Floor mosaic for L- Plates Bistro, TAFE, Townsville 2000 Black River and The Bridge Thuringowa City Council1999 Bridging Gaps Sculpture installation Townsville City Council

Solo Exhibitions

2011 Beyond Borders, Umbrella Studio Contemporary Arts, Townsville2006 Sensing the Silence: Mary Kathleen, Perc Tucker Regional Gallery, Townsville2001 Forgotten Places, Perc Tucker Regional Gallery, Townsville2001 Forgotten Places 1, The Other Gallery, Banff Centre For The Arts, Banff, Canada2000 Beneath our Feet 2, Craft Queensland Gallery, Brisbane1999 Beneath our Feet, Perc Tucker Regional Gallery, Townsville 1997 Passages of Earth, Fusions Gallery, Brisbane1994 Fumed and Quenched, Flinders Gallery, Townsville1989 North Queensland Potters Association Gallery, Townsville1987 Perc Tucker Regional Gallery, Townsville1985 Alfred St. Community Art Centre, Cairns

Selected Collaborative & Group Exhibitions

2011 Twenty Five Women, Artspace, Townsville2009 Q150, Umbrella Studio Townsville 2008 Salute, Fusions Gallery, Fortitude Valley2008 Remantled, Umbrella Studio Townsville2004 Gold Coast International Ceramic Art Award2004 Walk This Way, Perc Tucker Regional Gallery, Townsville & Rockhampton Regional Gallery2003 The Rye Crop, Moura Clay Gallery, Sydney2002 Austcare A4 Refugee Project, Metro Arts, Brisbane2002 House, Vincent Gallery, James Cook University, Townsville2000 View points, Pinnacles Gallery, Kirwan1999 Feastival, Thuringowa City Gallery1999 Mantled, Umbrella Studio, Townsville1998 Gold Coast International Ceramic Art Award 1998 Between the Sea and the Shore, Perc Tucker Regional Gallery, Townsville

1997 Townsville Ceramics Acquisition, Perc Tucker Regional Gallery, Townsville1995 Motif and Decoration; a contemporary view, Crafts Council of Qld Gallery, Brisbane.1994 Immortal Clay, Cairns Regional Gallery1994 The Fire Within, Palms Gallery, Townsville1990~94 Alice Springs Ceramic Award1990~93 Gold Coast International Ceramic Art Award 1995 Gold Coast International Ceramic Art Award 1990~96 Award Exhibitions; Townsville, Cairns and Brisbane1989 Magnetism Island Artists Upstairs for Art Gallery, Townsville1988 Quality 5 Crafts Adelaide Festival of Art1986 North of Capricorn Inaugural Exhibition North Queensland Potters Association1984 Inaugural Exhibition Alfred St. Community Art Centre, Cairns Collections Gold Coast City Art GalleryJames Hardie Library of Australian Fine Arts, State Library of Queensland, BrisbaneBanff Centre for the Arts Ceramic Collection, Banff, CanadaMuseum of Tropical Queensland (on loan)Townsville City CouncilNorth Queensland Potters’ Association, TownsvillePerc Tucker Regional Gallery, TownsvilleH.Spee Collection, TownsvilleFourex Collection, Townsville

Awards & Grants

2005 Professional Development Award – Arts Queensland2001 Cultural Development Award – Townsville City Council2000 Professional Development Grant, Arts Queensland 1998 Claycraft Award - Townsville Ceramic Awards1998 Cultural Development Award, Townsville City Council1997~98 New Work Development Award, Arts Council of Queensland 1994 Fourex Award - Townsville Pacific Festival 1993 Claycraft Award - N.Q.P.A. Anniversary Exhibition 1984 H.Spee Tiling Award - Townsville Pacific Festival 1983 Student award - Townsville Pacific Festival

Residencies

2008 Remantled Umbrella Studio, Townsville2002 Tutor for Flying Arts Queensland2001 Tutor for Flying Arts Queensland2001 Creative Research Residency; Banff International Centre for the Arts, Banff, Canada2000 PCAP Artist in Residence at Western Queensland remote area schools1999 Mantled Umbrella Studio, Townsville1999 Xit 99 Artist in residence; Hands on Art, Kirwan State High School

F.V. 1786

Bet’s sister Rose preferred the more avant-garde designs

Glenn’s daughter’s kitchen (2) (detail)

Photo, L. Middleton

Photo, L. Middleton

Photo, L. Middleton