Ella Powditch
Sydney Secondary College Blackwattle Bay Campus
CABINET OF CURIOSITIES
Sculpture
Mixed Media
On the cusp of the scientific discoveries of the 18th century, cabinets of curiosities were a precursor to what we now think of as modern museums. They were personal collections of exotic objects (botany, antiquities, astronomy etc), gathered from around the globe that told a story about the world and its history. Grounded in my love for order and categorising, my body of work is a stand-alone interactive sculpture that invites the audience to explore the almost forgotten art of collecting and presenting objects. While it references the scientific method, it also tells a story through themes that resonate personally.
My artmaking practice has been influenced by the study and interpretation of the following artists: Joseph Cornell, Rosalie Gascoigne, Robert Rauschenberg, Betye Saar.
Marker's Commentary
This body of work demonstrates the potential power of art to explore philosophical issues in a knowing and sophisticated manner. The motif of the cabinet is both physical and metaphoric, demonstrating an ironic account to be found in each draw as it pertains to the powerful combination of the ‘arts and science’. The intriguing aesthetics of each draw generates a playful exchange as the audience engages with the artefacts in each draw. The jumbled and ever-changing nature of each draw reveals how visual truths have been understood in western history. This sculpture of ten timber drawers effectively extends aesthetic considerations of Surrealism and Fluxus, with the aspirations and aims in the age of insights, history and enlightenment.