Relic Brooch 2

The life cycle of 'useful' materials and the accumulative impacts they have on the environment that sustains us is fascinating to the fossicking enthusiast. Exploring the world through fragments that fit in your pocket can be thought-provoking. A rust coated and burnished schist pebble found on the bank of Lake Wakatipu, seaworn coral from the plundered reefs of Quandamooka country, ocean tumbled coal from Newcastle: all containing stories of conquest and settlement. What intrigues me about the transformation of these formerly useful cultural materials and objects is their sneaky reintegration into 'nature'. This was part of an exhibition piece in 2023.