Rarely Seen Exhibition – 2013

Rarely Seen was the second stage of a project that investigated endangered Australian flowers and was supported by the Australia Council for the Arts. The first phase was shown at the Jam Factory in Adelaide during October 2012.

Rarely Seen examines critically threatened Australian flora and realises flower-making skills acquired with the guidance of skilled artisans during earlier residencies in Jingdezhen, China. Vulnerable species are hand-formed and aligned with objects alluding to chemical containers and chemistry equipment. Surfaces are inscribed with narratives that reference the flower’s endangered status. An ambiguous relationship exists between these delicately rendered white porcelain flowers, that appeared to be snap frozen in time, and the scientific apparatus that both confines and defines their existence.