Rituals For Letting Go
Commencing in 2023, this project involves reviewing and letting go of a seashell collection that I have carried around in boxes for over forty years. The collection started at Cocos (Keeling) Islands when I travelled there in the 1970s with my father who was employed as the sole Commonwealth Medical Officer. This page, and subsequent sub-pages, will serve as a record of how I transform the experience and subject matter into a series of contemporary art exhibitions and actions. When I commenced this process nothing was preconceived and what emerges will rely on both research and intuition. Expect this documentation to be arranged and rearranged as new material is produced.
The first step was an art exhibition, Surface Tension, at ANCA Gallery in Canberra where it all began. I invited my partner, artist Brenda Factor, to come along for the ride. The work can be viewed at Surface Tension
A few weeks prior the opening of the exhibition, ABC reporter Charlie Mills who covers the Pilbara and Cocos (Keeling) Islands, contacted me after reading a letter I wrote to the Cocos Shire Council about returning the shells. He thought my project would be an interesting story to cover. The release of this article coincided with the opening of the show.
As a result of this article, a Cocos Malay family who now live on the Australian mainland, contacted me. I was able to meet with some members of the family, including their father who worked as the Dispenser on Pulau Selma. It was agreed that I would return the shells to him. It was an important form of remembering and reviewing his life on Cocos, but like me he also wanted to see the shells returned to the hermit crabs. He thought it would be a fitting ritual to distribute the shells around the mainland Cocos community so that as they visit the islands to see family, attend weddings and so on, a few shells could return at a time. For me there couldn’t be a better outcome or process. So, in August 2025 I will drive across Australia with four crates of shells to deliver to his home on the coast of Western Australia.
The Limpet Suit: The Making of a New Persona
I enjoyed creating the persona of The Pale Carrier and in a similar fashion another character, The Limpet, is under development. Strangely, like anything I make or any action I take, the creation of these characters takes the place of what is given back. They manifest as the process of letting go. Strange new memories, no matter how fleeting. They are created, they might appear in paintings, and then they withdraw.
The Limpet Suit is based on a quick sketch created while undertaking a residency at Fremantle Arts Centre in 2024.
My sister Lesley Clarke has sewing skills so she kindly offered to construct the limpet forms on her sewing machine.
