In Montevideo, Uruguay

I'm currently in Montevideo visiting family and friends as well as researching for my next project. The elections have come and gone, the political party Frente Amplio has retained power and we have a new president: Pepe Mujica. The same terrible Tele Novelas are on TV from Argentina and Brazil. The weather is unpredictable, one minute sunny and warm the next rain and storm. But what I love most about being 'home' in the country where I was born is revisiting places and memories from my childhood.

Rebirth, Gallerysmith. Paper objects (December 2008)

Book Urchin. Approx 6cm diameter, 5cm high unframed. Encased in perspex cube

The Poetics of Colour. Approx 11.5cm diameter, 5cm high

Great Narratives. 15cm diameter, 3.5cm high.

Jezebel I. 11cm diameter, 2.4cm high.

Race and Darwinism. 12cm diameter, 2.5cm high.

For the end of year Gallerysmith group show I exhibited a series of paper objects made from various books and papers. The texts used include The Painted Queen by Olga Hesky based on the old testament and the life of Jezebel and range of other texts by Jeremy Bentham, Abigail Solomon-Godeau and Michel Foucault.

Each paper object is individually housed in a clear perspex custom built circular case. Some can be displayed flat on a tabletop or can be hung directly on to the wall.

Upcoming exhibition curated by Sarah Evans

Opening is next Tuesday 27th October 5-7:30pm at Kudos gallery, 6 Napier Street Paddington.

La Rambla (The Promenade), 2008

La Rambla (The Promenade), 2008. Collage/hand cut inkjet prints. Unique state. Series of 6. Each 25 x 20cm

When surveyed, Uruguayans responded that the most iconic and culturally defining urban site was the Rambla or the Promenade. When I returned to Uruguay for a holiday after a ten year absence, I took a series of images at the Rambla. The resulting body of work makes use of a selection of these images to form the filling for the inside of my gaping mouth. My mouth is not only the site from where I express my native language of castellano but it also becomes a site where I physically ingest cultural experience, through food and drink. La Rambla is an attempt to connect with my cultural heritage and explore the strong ties between identity and place.

Xodo 2008

Eu So Quero Um Xodo loosely translated from Portuguese means I only want a love. Xodo is a traditional Brazilian country love song. I learnt of this song through my father, who sings it beautifully. In this series of self portrait works I play the role of a Mulatta, both highly desired and scorned. She lives between two worlds, both master and slave. Her defiant and questioning gaze reinforce her status as a rebel and a threat to the established order. Can a woman like this find real love?

Textile work at Gallerysmith (October 2008)

Superstition, A.K.A and Negra, Mulatta, Parda all from 2008. Installation images courtesy of Gallerysmith.

Tharunka Issue 04, Edition 54

You'd better keep quiet as featured in Tharunka, UNSW Student Voice magazine,
Issue 4, Edition 54, p.19