Together my German friend Julia Zoellner and I created this 54x61x3cm wall sculpture called Water under the Bridge. She first painted a skyline on a piece of found veneer using red and white acrylics. I then started glueing – first a ‘bridge’ of painted balsa wood I found in a skip, then ‘buildings’ from red bits and bobs of pottery and plastic. Next I glued the ‘river’, created from red and white bottle lids and other round pieces of plastic. The finishing touch was the artificial hibiscus ‘sun’. I found all the materials to make this work on the streets of Melbourne.
This work has appeared in several exhitibitions. It was created for Julia and my joint exhibition Upcycled from the City Streets at The Guild Assembly Point in 2018. In late 2019, it was featured in the international Splash Trash online gallery. Most recently, in 2020, it was in the exhibition Rivers Run Free at the Dirty Dozen, located in the underground walkway near the Flinders Street Station.
What inspires me
I am a found object assemblage artist and jewellery designer, creating wall sculptures, 3D sculptures and brooches. I limit my ‘raw materials’ to the metal, wood, tiles and plastic that I gather from streets and skips.
Many of my works are inspired by the Melbourne skyline, especially at sunrise and sunset. Others are based memories of temples and pagodas from my travels in Southeast Asia. Often I try to incorporate ‘natural features’ – a bent nail that suggests a meandering river, rusted sheet metal that transforms into a cloud, or a broken tile that becomes a mountain.
My more abstract works are stimulated by the found objects themselves, which I often place in juxtaposition. At other times, I emphasise their rusted, scratched or variegated surfaces.
Strong interest in sustainability
My art is inspired by a strong interest in sustainability through repurposing and upcycling. My hope is that this artwork makes you smile and, at the same time, reminds you of the 5Rs to help our planet: refuse, reduce, reuse, repurpose and recycle.
