Open Collective burrows into the rich soils of lived histories that characterise the artists’ individual definitions of homeland. They unearth indelible lines that connect the emotional responses to diaspora, ecological inquiries relating to material and practice, and above all, the spirituality of space. These themes run deep in the veins of the artists’, crashing like waves upon their planes of existence. Open Collective ruminates on the sheer power of origin. Transversing unique terrains, this exhibition is the materialisation of the ceaseless seeking of place.
The Wound is the Land of Healing, Wire, Reclaimed textiles & Plastic, Various Dimensions.
The sculpture presents as a healing scar upon the walls’ surface. The discoloured textures stain ever closer, pulling together what was once torn apart. The formal qualities of the relief piece resemble the appearance of gauze. Once applied to the wound this reparative material begins the process of recovery, a reshaping of the body. The wound here is a signifier of ongoing nurture and care rather than a reminder of the evils that were once thought to have shifted one’s identity beyond repair.
CONNIE HOPE 