Breaking down the Barriers - Celebrating the Differences

2001

inks, boards, assorted papers, threads, fabrics

20 x 20 x 50 cm (closed)
& up to 20 x 100 x 30 cm (opened)

When diametrically-opposed people first come into contact (different cultures, different viewpoints) they do not understand the others’ experiences and history, and do not interact. With greater association, each side can recognise superficial differences in the beliefs and lifestyles of the other group. Then differences amongst individual members of the other culture become apparent, causing each culture to appreciate, and even begin to take on board, some aspects of the other’s beliefs/stance. Tolerance and compromise blossom, at both the spiritual and the physical level, leading to full cooperation and recognition. However we must remain aware that differences still exist, and we must not try to smudge everything into an indeterminate grey melting pot.

This progression, from separation to reconciliation, is depicted in the pages of this book.

The interweaving of the cultural differences can be viewed from either the ‘black’ or ‘white’ perspective, framed and restricted by our own cultural baggage. Although the interactions are the same, this background ‘colour’ can influence, and perhaps alter, our perception of the situation. At the beginning of this new millennium, black and white relations in Australia are under the microscope. Let us hope that increasing empathy produces harmony and reconciliation, whilst at the same time preserving and celebrating the underlying basics of our individual and cultural differences.

1998

cut-paper shapes, gouache and acrylic ink on mat board

7 x 23 cm diam (in box), up to 100 cm diam (laid out)

This book contains 27 circular pages stored in a round box. The historical development of each letter is written on one side of each page. A symmetrical design for each letter was created by mirroring and repeating it, and then this cut-paper design was glued to the back of each page. The colours, in both the writing and the backgrounds of the designs, range through the full spectrum. The base of the box shows the historical progression of scripts. The top and inside of the box lid feature quotations about lettering and explanations of my rationale.

2003

photocopied text on paper, threads, card

15 x 11 x 2 cm

This double-sided book contains 12 separate individually-stitched booklets. Each booklet focuses on one colour, and describes scientific data, historical symbolism, associations and common phrases.

The books on one side are the primary and secondary colours – Red, Orange, Yellow, Green, Blue and Purple. The books on the other side are Gold, Silver, Grey, Brown, White and Black. One cover has COLOUR written in pearlescent inks, and for the other cover I created a computer-generated image in Adobe Photoshop.

2001

photocopied hand-lettering and images, card

8 x 8 x 5 cm (in box) & up to 20 x 40 cm (laid out)

This is a “hands-on” book, to be played with often. There are eight sections, each comprised of four triangles strung together. The patterns on the triangles (ranging in tone from light to dark) are photocopies of natural-fibre papers, stamped leaves, photographs and hand-lettered quotes about nature. The triangles can be butted together in various ways to make patchwork blocks. By altering the arrangement of the blocks, many different ‘patchwork quilts’ can be designed.

2006

hand-lettered text, printed photograph

15 x 7cm (closed)

The Brisbane River traverses a sinuous route through the Brisbane area. The shaped lettering inside the book reflects these curves, but with lateral elongation. The text, written in varying hues which echo the waters colours, describes the river as it flows through Brisbane, from the Ipswich boundary to the ocean.

The words written inside this book were composed by Alison Horsley:

a meandering calligraphic line, writ by unseen hands, that languidly transcribes, in ever-changing inks, the pulsating life of the city of Brisbane.

2002

hand-lettered cut pages, card, Japanese paper, ribbon

50 x 28 cm

The pages of this book contain quotes about friendship and when opened up they form flower shapes - the blossoming of friendship. The book is heart-shaped to represent the love of a true friend.

2004

handmade natural fibre paper, slide mounts

5 x 5 x 9cm

Handmade natural-fibre papers are displayed in a meandering book format.

2002

handmade natural fibre paper, stitched with raffia

11 x 15 x 7cm

Before white settlement, the Australian aboriginal people had no written form of communication, and the tribal laws and legends were passed from one generation to the next by word of mouth. Many were sacred, and were only revealed to the initiated. The aboriginal people believed they, as well as all animals and plants, were direct descendants of the mythical beings of the Dreamtime, who created the laws that govern all secular and ceremonial behaviour. The legends explained the world in which they lived - the sun and moon and stars; the wind and rain and thunder; the topography of the land; and the plants and animals that provided them with food.

The nomadic aborigines carried their possessions and food in dilly bags, which were containers made from bark, stems and leaves. Australia is a vast continent - different legends are told in different areas, just as different plants have become adapted to grow in a wide range of habitats. Thus the pockets in this book (each made from different plant fibres) symbolise the attempts of present-day Australians to preserve and record what remains of the vast array of sacred, and sometimes secret, aboriginal Dreamtime legends. Hopefully the fragility and variety of the oral tradition will be now be protected and secured in a more durable format for the benefit of future generations.

2000

decorative papers, card, photographs, ribbons, ink

10 x 11 x 4 cm

This little book is a compilation of all things RED. It contains poems, quotes, photos, facts, historical symbolism, fancy papers and much more.

2004

found objects (plant and animal), slide mounts, tea-dyed paper, chiffon

6cm x 6cm x 6cm (closed)

Small pieces of discarded plant and animal remains are usually ignored or just seen as rubbish on the ground. However when they are brought to our attention, we realise that the minutiae that we usually bypass can be seen in a new light and become beautiful and precious treasures.

2002

gouache, acrylics, inks on Canson card, mixed media

40 x 32 cm (closed)
40 x 60 cm diam (opened)

Ten artists from Australia and America were invited to join the Collaborative Book Project organised by Di Harris. Each artist decorated ten A4 pages, and these were then progressively passed to each of the other artists for further embellishment. The completed pages were then returned to their owner, and bound into a book. The ten books were first displayed at the Noosa ‘Books 2002’ exhibition, and have since been displayed in many galleries throughout Australia and USA.

For my pages I chose papers of ten different colours. I wrote in coloured pencils and stamped in toning hues, in the hope that the other artists would continue this rainbow theme (which mostly happened). I mounted each page in a black frame, and joined them so that the colours progress through the full colour spectrum when the pages are fanned out in a circle.