Audrey Napper
Figtree High School
CE N'EST PAS UNE MAISON DE POUPÉE
Sculpture
Found objects, Mixed Media
My body of work explores the concept of identity and how it affects our everyday environment. I was inspired by the diversity of my own cultural background as well as the interconnectedness of cultures within suburban Australian architecture. I have repurposed found objects to create three terrace-inspired buildings, each inhabited by a person or people who have adapted their homes to reflect their cultural identity. I anthropomorphise these structures by combining iconic Australian architecture and cultural signs and symbols that represent their inhabitants.
My artmaking practice has been influenced by the study and interpretation of the following artists: Michael C McMillen, Joshua Smith, Mylyn Nguyen.
Marker's Commentary
This sculpture is a highly resolved artwork demanding close inspection. It demonstrates the student's understanding of sculpture and is presented as a high relief, wall-mounted piece to be viewed from 3 sides. The treatment and combination of a vast variety of materials is a sophisticated example of linking material resolution to conceptual strength and meaning. The dilapidated aesthetic of the sculpture draws the audience in and invites the eye to investigate every small detail. The details such as stickers on the telegraph pole, signal box and graffiti on the side of the dwelling, turned over empty bottles which suggest the buildings are 'lived in' and the haphazard wiring on the electrical pole, are consistent and enhance the feeling of human presence and memory.
The consideration of the textures and the representation of a 'lived in space' has resulted in a highly resolved representation of a suburban existence which seems familiar yet also alludes to another culture. The ambiguous representation of a 'neighbourhood' makes the audience question the state of decay, the society that is represented and provokes thoughts of 'home' and what that is to different people. The sculpture allows the audience to draw subjective connections with the work and therefore is able to be interpreted in a range of ways.