Eggshell art a labour of love
EGGSHELLS, salt, flour, tears and paprika; that’s artist Sue Saxon’s recipe for evocative and ethereal creations that embody her Jewish roots.
The Sydney-based artist created her latest works by painstakingly piecing together ruptured eggshell fragments.
Featured in her exhibition Otherwise Than Being, which opened last week at the Gaffa Gallery in Sydney, Saxon’s artworks draw on imagery from texts as diverse as Biblical commentaries to The Wizard of Oz.
“I like to have a combination of high and low influences, ranging from the Talmud to pop culture,” Saxon explains. “My Jewish heritage and culture is important and manifests in my artworks in numerous ways.”
Working from her home studio, Saxon admits to having spent many nights crafting eggshell fragments into works that not only reveal her own agendas, but also allow for the viewer’s own ¬≠interpretation.
Having attained a plethora of artistic qualifications, including a master of art study from New York University and a masters of visual arts from the University of Sydney, the 50-year-old derives practical benefits from her education. “As an artist, studying allows me to focus on the process, where I can look at new ideas and have the freedom to experiment and be absorbed in my work,” she explains.
During the past 20 years, Saxon has investigated the emotional and physical geographies of memory, drawing on popular culture and philosophy to ignite inspiration.
“With these works, I was particularly looking at French philosopher Emmanuel Levinas’ ideas about ethics and ‘otherness’ and his struggle to articulate the relationship with the ‘other’, who can’t be completely understood.”
But it is her roots that have been the antagonist for her exploration of the “other” as a tangible notion. “A particular examination of the Jew as ‘other’ has developed into a broader engagement with ¬≠discourses of power and different perspectives of otherness.
“My stake in materiality, a critical engagement with my own history and a desire to rupture the status quo combine to infuse my work with multiple layers of metaphor and meaning.”
Saxon believes that art is a potent way to express ideas. “I can draw on both the visual and poetic. But mine is not a dictating embodiment as I like people to complete the work with their own body of experiences.”
Although her unique form of mosaic eggshell art often proves tedious, Saxon admits to loving the process. “I think it’s a fantastic challenge to create works that are both simple and complex, that are beautiful and troubling and that try to grapple with profound issues.”
The Otherwise Than Being exhibition is at Gaffa Gallery, 281 Clarence Street, Sydney until November 2. Enquiries: www.gaffa.com.au
CASSILEE KAHN