Winning weapons and beyond
The perspex box contains small works, in varying media, and shapes.
There are a series of works on paper, made with the idea of fragments
which allude to radio astronomy, optics and WW1 and WW2 with images
of old aircraft, ship's radar, diagrams etc.
There are two books, the small red book refers to the notion of
scientific formula and discovery with each of the paper fragments
being a part of a whole formula. Each paper fragment has a small
diagram and the corresponding letters which make up part of the
whole formula. The other book like piece is a direct reference
to the idea of samples, and comprises diagrammatic works on wax
and transparent paper, photographs and drawings and reductive
images of navigational aids. These are all placed in plastic bags
and mounted between two perspex sheets.
The lead like box, with the title 'New Era' is filled with assorted
objects. On the lid of the box is a gum leaf worked to appear
like a metal substance, this lead look is again repeated throughout
the box and is a metaphor for contamination and relates to the
atomic tests by Britain in Australia. The box is filled with wax,
with objects embedded in the wax. There are two small bottles
filled with natural ochres from the desert of Australia and which
Aboriginal artists use to create bark paintings, a negative of
an old sailing ship which reflects our colonial past, an old valve
and fuses which relate sound waves and radio etc. On the inside
of the lid is a small work on paper with a diagram and old eyepiece
with gold, which is mined in Australia, and which represents the
notion of both vision and foresight and the field of optics developed
in Australia.
The other small box is filled with fuses in a grid-like pattern,
the outside of the box is covered with references to Pawsey, astronomy,
diagrams and planetary motion.
The perspex box was made with the idea of transparency and being
able to see at a glance objects and assorted pieces that will
be filed away for future sorting and labelling, so there is no
set arrangement. The pieces in the box are interchangeable so
that different viewers will see different things at different
times. One book can fold out, the other left open at a particular
place. One box can be seen open, the other, open or closed. The
works on paper can be placed in layers and moved about, or just
a fragment can be shown.