BOY - Critic
BOY - Critic
BOY - Critic
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<strong>Critic</strong> 01 45<br />
Editor Hana Aoake<br />
Art Review<br />
Clare Fleming’s at once we are rootless and harbouring,<br />
floating on an inland sea (I am from here)<br />
Blue Oyster art project space from March 8<br />
To encounter Clare Fleming’s At once we are rootless and harbouring,<br />
floating on an inland sea (I am here) is to be immersed in a deeply<br />
personal inner landscape. Clare Fleming is an artist based in Dunedin<br />
and a Dunedin School of Art BFA graduate. The works are a manifestation<br />
of Fleming’s sense of dislocation in the world. There is a sense of<br />
intimacy and fragility combined with an exploration of the multifaceted<br />
concept of “place” and what that means in relation to identity. The<br />
sculptures consist of large eucalyptus branches, dressed in mover<br />
blankets, which resemble mangroves as the branches are spread<br />
out like large roots. Inside the branches are stranded suitcase parts,<br />
moulded together to resemble ships, with small lights at the top of<br />
the branches, as though they are lighthouses leading the ships astray.<br />
Eucalyptus branches are symbolic of Fleming’s birthplace of Australia,<br />
with the recycled moving blankets representing both the excesses of<br />
mass production and the comforting nature of a blanket. The ships<br />
made of suitcases refer to the previous places Fleming has lived, her<br />
inability to put “roots” down, and to new adventures she will uncover.<br />
The distorted sounds of crashing waves and tiny lights reflect hope as<br />
they point the way to these new adventures.<br />
At once we are rootless and harbouring; floating on an inland sea (I<br />
am from here) is arguably Fleming’s most intimate work, also retaining<br />
a sense of political responsibility heavily engrained in previous projects<br />
such as We Are Optimistic’s Patriarchy Free Zone: Imagination Station<br />
at OUSA Art Week 2010. Through her sense of dislocation Fleming also<br />
considers the dark history of colonisation in New Zealand and Australia.<br />
She also examines the effects of globalisation, such as whether it is<br />
possible to contain “place”, production and consumption and whether<br />
the need for a “pure” or original home is relevant in society today. At<br />
once we are rootless and harbouring; floating on an inland sea (I am<br />
from here) is currently on at the Blue Oyster project space, along with<br />
The fullness of empty pockets by Colleen Altagracia and Arytipidal by<br />
Andy Leleisi’uao.