The Journal of Australian Ceramics Vol 54 No 1 April 2015

Mollie Bosworth, A Media tion on Light (series), 2013, cyanotype on porcelain; photo: courtesy artist
Artisan engages with lots of different mediums and fields - from jewellery, ceramics and glass, to
architecture, design and fashion, all within its craft and design scope. Given this diversity, we have
developed an interest in the relationships between these fields, and how artists may draw influence and
inspiration from mediums outside their own. Parallel to this, we've been curious about the artist-driven
exhibitions that have been popping up in recent years. Museums, for example, have been inviting artists
into their collections to interpret and curate new displays of them.
Out of these interests arose the concept for our Chain Reaction exhibition series in which two
initial artists are each required to nominate another two other artists who work in different mediums
and whose work inspires their own. These artists then nominate a further two artists each, resulting
in the selection of fourteen Queensland creatives connected by intriguing threads of influence. This
year's artists included Graham Bligh, Mollie Bosworth, Kylie Burke, India Collins, Shannon Garson,
Roland Nancarrow, Adele Outteridge, Lucy-Belle Rayner, Sarah Rayner, Brian Robinson, Adrienne Shaw,
Christopher Trotter, Wim de Vos and Daniel Wallwork.
For the recent artist talks at the opening of Chain Reaction Two, we invited one chain of artists
to speak about their nominations with the artist at the end of the chain, discussing their hypothetical
nominations should the chain continue. This final artist was ceramicist Shannon Garson, who, to our
surprise, said she would potentially nominate an artist from the first Chain Reaction and thereby create
a 'short ci rcuit' in the chain! So while our chain model has been very successful in exploring influences
across mediums, clearly this network of influence is a fascinating and more complex web.
A report by Richard Stride, Exhibitions Manager at Gallery Artisan in Fortitude Valley
THE JOURNAL OF AUSTRALIAN CERAMICS APRil 2015 103