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Building from fragments : reconstructing a site through print

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thesis
posted on 2023-05-26, 22:58 authored by Cockburn, Eleanor Tracey
Fragments of crockery recovered from the site of a property I built in Hobart form the basis of this research project. The works contained within the body of research are derived from the patterns on these fragments as well as the patterns that are created by the process of collage. By repetition and enlargement, and the creation of entirely new forms, the patterns become the vehicle used to convey a range of ideas. Production of the multiple, made possible through the use of a range of traditional and new printmaking processes, allowed development of non-traditional large scale print based works which make reference to the various aspects of the site (the interior or domestic space, the broader landscape, the intimate garden) and ideas of archaeology, collection and cataloguing. Several areas of investigation comprise the major body of the research, and these are related by the central theme of the lost and recovered object. These ideas are examined under a number of headings, including the Object, the Overlooked, Archaeology, and the Ruin, while considering attitudes to history and the role fiction plays in our concept of what constitutes history. In considering notions of the lost and recovered object, the work of photographers Anne Ferran and JJ Friola is examined. The highly decorative nature of the works and the use of found remnants of pattern is related to the work of Philip Taaffe and Elizabeth Gower, and references to the domestic, and craft based `womens work' are related to artists such as Miriam Schapiro and Elizabeth Gower. The ubiquitous nature of the fragments recovered and the fact they have no intrinsic value is of prime importance. They represent the everyday or overlooked lives of those who may have inhabited this space. Much has been written about the power of the object to conjure memories, to stand as a witness to past events, to bring to the present histories, and to imply ways of life. By re-interpretation and re-presentation of the fragments I wish to elevate them to a higher value and bring them absolutely to our attention and in doing so offer a suggestion of the importance of the everyday in our concept of history.

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Copyright 2005 the Author - The University is continuing to endeavour to trace the copyright owner(s) and in the meantime this item has been reproduced here in good faith. We would be pleased to hear from the copyright owner(s). Thesis (M.F.A.)--University of Tasmania, 2005. Includes bibliographical references

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