The Journal of Australian Ceramics Vol 52 No 3 November 2013
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Pocket PhD<br />
sculptural forms and rubble mounds suggest the breaking down <strong>of</strong> processes through climate change.<br />
<strong>The</strong>se forms signify coral damage as impacts from ocean acidification and coral bleaching. This<br />
installation simulates underwater processes through a video projection over the sculptural forms. <strong>The</strong><br />
video implies sensually moving water ripples; however patterns are chaotic rather than ordered, a<br />
metaphor for the underlying accumulative processes <strong>of</strong> climate change.<br />
A quasi lab, that includes glassware, is also part <strong>of</strong> this installation and represents the complexity<br />
<strong>of</strong> 'base processes' in the ocean as a metaphor for scientific testing and knowledge that informs our<br />
understanding <strong>of</strong> climate change. This part <strong>of</strong> the installation includes ceramic elements, metal tins and<br />
photographic transparencies to represent scientific testing and measuring <strong>of</strong> ocean acidification and<br />
coral bleaching.<br />
<strong>The</strong> viewer is invited to become a participator and activator through physical engagement with this<br />
immersive installation: the video projection over sculptural forms layers space in a series <strong>of</strong> close-up and<br />
middle-distance experiences; the large mounds <strong>of</strong> coral rubble <strong>of</strong>fer a tactile experience; and physical<br />
immersion <strong>of</strong>fers the viewer a sensory experience. A changing awareness <strong>of</strong> light, space and threedimensional<br />
form aims to bring the artwork and its ecological themes to the forefront <strong>of</strong> the viewer's<br />
perception.<br />
Melt is a mini-installation that evokes global warming processes through fragmented iceberg-like<br />
sculptures. This installation creates a visual tension as a poetic interplay between the actual 'stillness'<br />
in my sculptures and the implied 'breaking down'. Forms imply dripping ice and melting pools in<br />
suspended animation, as though time has halted. <strong>The</strong> forms are marooned and isolated in an 'other<br />
world' time and space. Through these visual cues, as well as specialised golden lighting, the viewer may<br />
contemplate global warming 'tipping points'.<br />
Fiona Murphy has had 25 solo exhibitions since 1981.<br />
Fiona Murphy, Reef Lab, detail<br />
A 7 minute video <strong>of</strong> Fiona Murphy's exhibition can be viewed on vlmeo: http://vimeo.comI77392277
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