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Unintended Consequences by Catherine Large

Exhibition  /  03 Sep 2020  -  25 Sep 2020
Published: 06.08.2020
Brooch: Car Wreck brooch by Catherine Large.Recycled Toyota Corolla E20 steel, vitreous enamel, sterling silver. . 2020.3 x 5 x 1 cm.Photo by: Michelle Bowden Catherine Large
Brooch: Car Wreck brooch, 2020
Recycled Toyota Corolla E20 steel, vitreous enamel, sterling silver. 
3 x 5 x 1 cm
Photo by: Michelle Bowden
© By the author. Read Klimt02.net Copyright.

Intro
The outcome of this exhibition is the result of a series of unintended consequences. I walk regularly in the dry eucalypt forest of Mt. Coot-tha near my home in Brisbane, and over many years have experienced the colours, textures, quality of light and ‘bush silence’ on the mountain through the changing seasons.

Artist list

Catherine Large
Over the course of a number of years, with no particular outcome in mind, I have collected steel from a car wreck. These little bits of metal have rusted into beguiling shapes that are lying on the ground, almost disappearing into the earth. It’s one of many wrecks on the mountain and but this one I pass regularly. From my research, I believe it is a Toyota Corolla E20 circa 1973.

There are many of these cars scattered over the mountain, in gullies and off what are now fire trails, inaccessible to cars in the present day. Many of these trails have their origins from 1 August 1942, when the Brisbane City Council lent Mt Coot-tha to the US Navy for use as an ordnance depot; these trails were roads that the 55th Naval Construction Battalion of the US Navy built to access the munitions storage scattered over the mountain.[1]

I am drawn to the signs of unintended consequences, and enjoy not only the idea that a steel car body, probably assembled at the Toyota plant in Port Melbourne, should end up being made into a piece of wearable art, but also that the car could only end up where it is because of events 80 years ago

Working with the rusty steel with minimal preparation allows the material and process to dictate the outcome. The result is revealed layers of colour, rusty spots peeping through, rough edges and a variety of finishes.

Since its’ inception the car has represented freedom and independence, and to create a body of work made from car steel during this year of unintended consequences has been a reflective and poignant project. / Catherine Large


[1] Queensland World War II Historic Places https://www.ww2places.qld.gov.au/place?id=964


Opening hours:
Thursday and Friday: 11am - 6pm
Saturday: 11 - 5pm
We welcome private viewings by appointment. Please phone or email Merilyn or Liza to arrange this on +61 02 9368 1142.
 

Related Forum:

Unintended Consequences by Catherine Large. An Exhibition at Stanley Street Gallery.

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