FIELD

FIELD: Art for the Planet 2 was a collaboration between Jane Gillings and I that was curated by Ambush Gallery and installed at Darling Quarter between September 27 and October 27, 2018. Photos by Enzo Amato.

The story goes...

Lucy Barker and Jane Gillings met while walking along a narrow bush track on the NSW Central Coast. They quickly realised they were both artists with a similar interest in working with unusual materials as diverse as dryer fluff, sand, used veterinary syringes and used plastic cutlery. This unconventional palette they both use in their art making reflects a deep environmental concern as well as an interest in material as metaphor. By using discarded and used objects, both artists question aspects of human behaviour on an intimate and universal scale. The meaning of the work is enhanced by the history of the stuff from which it is made.

This work “Field” reflects this practice. The installation is comprised of 64 squares, or fields made from materials collected by the artists from a variety of sources. All the materials, with the exception of the plywood panels and fasteners have been recycled.

As is often the case when looking at art, the audience will view it according to their own experience. Some viewers will see agricultural fields, or sporting fields. They might be electrical fields or star fields. Fields of colour, sound and vision. Regardless of how the work is interpreted there is no avoiding the familiarity of the materials; materials that are typically discarded without thought or consideration as to where they go and how long they will be around. FIELD aims to engage the audience through the variety and familiarity the materials used and then open their mind to more thoughtful ways of consuming and disposing of these objects.