Apothecary

Apothecary was a site specific installation at House Conspiracy, South Brisbane, shown within New Materiality, curated by Ellie Lea Gujaš [Jansson]

The work explores questions of vulnerability and resilience within the context of extreme climatic events. The siting of the work plays on the permeability of ‘hard’ boundaries. The prickles and burs reference the approaching anniversary of the 2009 drought-related dust storm which lifted SA/NSW topsoil laden with seeds and contaminants and deposited the material across the eastern seaboard, the Tasman Sea, Aotearoa NZ and beyond. Beeswax holds a spectrum of multivocal and incongruent associations: seductive alchemical and aesthetic notions through to notions of climate and species crisis.

The title of the work referenced the fact that the weeds that I collected, and which had travelled with the dust storm, were all useful either medicinally or nutritionally.

The installation required the audience to participate by climbing a foot ladder which enabled a access to a curated scene within the studio through ‘view finders’.

Materials.

Beeswax from a local (to me) beekeeper; burs & prickles from the House Conspiracy garden with others ‘collected’ on my shoes and clothing; scavenged cardboard and paper. Studio backdrop – repurposed cotton soaked in local red clay soil, plaster coated branches. Site: Studio 3 and Studio 3 ventilation slats.

Photos – all photos by Rachel Apelt, except the final image, by Joseph Lynch.