Stronghold (cat's cradle), 2003
lomandra, black crow shells
collection the artist

This work was created ensite in Drill Hall Gallery, ANU, Canberra as part of the exhibition <ABSTRACTIONS>. Stronghold (Cat's cradle) consists of hand twined plant materials - Lomandra - worked into 35 feet of string onto which were periodically twined small black shells "Black crows" (nerita atramentosa) and also some feather down. This work had commenced in Melbourne and wound its way down to Canberra via Sydney where my fingers kept on twining the plant despite becoming quite swollen from the intensity of the process. This work was titled Stronghold (Cat's cradle) and is an expression of ongoing, personal connection to culture.
In making this work I strongly wished to express that even whilst living a modern and mobile existence one carries the meanings, the communicative aspects of culture regardless of location or luggage. This work visually appears to resemble a gate or a flag - but it is also a rendition of the cat's cradle international children's string game. The shells spaced along the length of the endless twine are a reminder also of my Tasmanian culture and attachment, in particular, to the coast of that island. Also, crows are also personally very significant, and were also the names given to Aboriginal people by some early white settlers, in particular when referring in code to how many they had shot in a day, how many 'crows' were disposed of...