The Journal of Australian Ceramics Vol 52 No 3 November 2013

Sandra Burgess, Plexus
PhD Exhibition; University Gallery, University of Newcastle 28 August - 4 September 2013
In her PhD exhibition,
Plexus, at the University of
Newcastle in September,
Sandra Burgess asked
viewers to notice the little
things.
Plexus (meaning
'matting' or 'plaiting') was
a survey of the layering
of history and physical
matter that develops in a
place. For Burgess, that
place is Hanging Rock near
Nundle, NSW, where she
tends a property.
"I want people to consider the fragility of the natural world and our impact on it," Burgess explained.
The idea of layering was explored using multiple mediums (including ceramics, paper, found objects and
plant installations) and by taking the viewer from the 'macro' to a 'micro' perspective.
Burgess's macro perspective was apparent in a series of deep half-spherical ceramic forms - each
violently gashed and cracked - which stood confidently at the gallery's entrance and represented the
effects of mining on the land. Other parts of the exhibition featured blackberries, prickly pear and grass
heads formed in porcelain to represent the weeds that invaded during colonial times.
The exhibition was also concerned with the microscopic, a perspective which has captivated Burgess's
imagination for thirty years. Featured was a fantastical exploration of diatoms, the silica skeletons of
prehistoric algae. "I was first fascinated by diatoms after reading {biologistj Ernst Haeckel's books," said
Burgess. "I also knew I was using them in the kiln bricks first given to me in 1979." Southern Ice was
a fitting material for her diatom reconstructions as it conveyed the tiny organisms' decorative swirls of
lines and dots.
''I'm asking people to look closer and notice the small things," said Burgess, ... because everything is
connected. And it's how you can really treasure things, by knowing more about them."
Report by Candice Anderson. http://theartisansobject.com
122 THE JOURNAL OF AUSTRALIAN CERAMICS NOVEMBER 2013