Artefacts - Incubator is a series of playful porcelain panels which reflect their unusual method of creation. The painted and drawn ‘artefacts’ entice you into a whimsical world in which brush-and-ink and pen drawings of insects are integrated into fanciful and imagined circumstances.
Artefacts - Incubator is the second collaborative project by artists Ellen Johansen, Bridget Oakley-Stevens and Michael Walker who have developed a way of working which keeps things fresh and the ideas flowing. They take ‘time out’ from their studio practice by leaving the fate of their artwork in the hands of others.
The artists' first collaboration was during an Auckland City Council art residency initiative entitled ‘Incubator’. In an intensive 5 days they created 15 small painted and drawn works, agreeing to allow each of their own works to be modified or even obliterated by the other artists. The collaborative process allowed the artists to let go of pre-conceived ideas and ways of working, and to be challenged in new and unexpected ways.