Nikki GREEN
|
Title: Patchwork Peace
Medium: mixed media on paper Dimensions: 100 x 180 cm “Peace at Home Peace in the World” Mustafa Kemal Ataturk (1934) These words have been memorialised in a bronze plaque with a message to the mothers of the fallen soldiers of Gallipoli…It is found accompanying a larger than life-size bronze statue of the Turkish Commander-in-Chief along the Albany Harbour Coastal walk. I have created a digital quilt from rubbings of the words cast on the bronze plaque. Through a process of frottage, photography, Photoshop and hand-written text, I have layered the words of Mustafa Kemal Ataturk into a series of sub-messages referencing a patchwork quilt printed on art paper with archival inks – an ode to the mothers. I used wax sticks on a scroll of Japanese rice paper to rub the text from the plaque, repeating lines and words to reinforce any particular messages for example “Wipe away your tears, wipe away your tears, wipe away your tears…” I photographed the series of brass rubbings on the Japanese rice paper scroll. Using Photoshop the photographic images were cropped into squares, exploring colours reminiscent of the camouflage palette. |
I then stitched ‘my quilt’ together…with the underlying intention to mimic the healing, calming and specifically feminine tradition of sewing a quilt. I scribed each of these diamonds using a white pen and once again repeating specific lines to create sub-messages. The pattern of the text and negative spaces creates a lacework effect over the quilt. I chose to nail my work to a board – like a military carton or ‘nails in a coffin’ Based in Denmark, Western Australia, Nikki works from the Butter Factory Studios and Gallery. She has a Bachelor of Arts (Fine Art - Printmaking) from the National Art School (Sydney). In her work, Green explores the junctions between nature and text, universal order and the human mark. Her work is in collections nationally and internationally. |
|
|
|