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Christine MCMILLAN
Artist Statement
My practice encompasses drawing, construction, performance, animation, and collaboration with other artists and the community. Devising structures within which to improvise is at the heart of this practice. Serendipitous connections unfold and enfold. A structure may be a mathematical grid on paper: a stage for an improvised dance of grass seeds bending as they dry, a random planting of trees: a loom for weaving lengths of gauze to redefine their spaces, sorted echidna quills: distorted or ordered grids and nets, a wall of pierced bricks: a mould revealing unexpected physical characteristics or a wall of basalt rocks: a surface for drawing Dr Amanda Lawson wrote: Christine ‘moves seamlessly across media. It seems her pursuit of visual languages to capture concepts or shape a fascination with the physical properties of the material world cannot be fixed or limited by any one medium’. In developing work I use the physical and visual characteristics of materials. At times these characteristics dictate the form of the final work. Conceptually the meaning can be inferred by the use of material or the choice of structure. Materials I have used range from plant resin, carp scales, echidna spines and grass seeds to cotton gauze. Each of these objects is collected and their specific characteristics are explored and the material itself transformed. Materials are used as a vehicle to explore concepts as varied and diverse i.e. the importance of biodiversity, exploring methods of creating ordered and random choice, and the role of the ignored yet common which is linked with knowledge and ways of looking. In the process of making the concepts can become clear and are sometimes suggested by the materials. Works at times require the cooperation of others for preparation and installation. A dialogue is developed which add another layer of meaning to the work.
My practice encompasses drawing, construction, performance, animation, and collaboration with other artists and the community. Devising structures within which to improvise is at the heart of this practice. Serendipitous connections unfold and enfold. A structure may be a mathematical grid on paper: a stage for an improvised dance of grass seeds bending as they dry, a random planting of trees: a loom for weaving lengths of gauze to redefine their spaces, sorted echidna quills: distorted or ordered grids and nets, a wall of pierced bricks: a mould revealing unexpected physical characteristics or a wall of basalt rocks: a surface for drawing Dr Amanda Lawson wrote: Christine ‘moves seamlessly across media. It seems her pursuit of visual languages to capture concepts or shape a fascination with the physical properties of the material world cannot be fixed or limited by any one medium’. In developing work I use the physical and visual characteristics of materials. At times these characteristics dictate the form of the final work. Conceptually the meaning can be inferred by the use of material or the choice of structure. Materials I have used range from plant resin, carp scales, echidna spines and grass seeds to cotton gauze. Each of these objects is collected and their specific characteristics are explored and the material itself transformed. Materials are used as a vehicle to explore concepts as varied and diverse i.e. the importance of biodiversity, exploring methods of creating ordered and random choice, and the role of the ignored yet common which is linked with knowledge and ways of looking. In the process of making the concepts can become clear and are sometimes suggested by the materials. Works at times require the cooperation of others for preparation and installation. A dialogue is developed which add another layer of meaning to the work.
Art Forms
- CCD - Community cultural development
- Conceptual
- Multimedia /hybrid
- 3 D (sculpture/installation/public art)
- Other
State
New South Wales
New South Wales
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