Catherine Large: Strange Objects

Overview

Everyone remembers the childhood thrill of spotting a strange object — be it an odd-shaped pebble or a gleaming shard of glass — then picking it up, putting it in your pocket and keeping it for your own makeshift treasure trove. In fact, if you still collect shiny seashells whenever you go to the beach, you're still doing the same thing.

Catherine Large does too, but on a different scale. The jewellery and small object artist crafts her creative pieces out of items inherited or unearthed in places she has lived or travelled to. She's not just retaining them for later; she's examining, reconsidering and coming up with new uses and configurations for her found bits and pieces.

The aptly titled Strange Objects is the end result, as well as an attempt to transform items of mysterious origins into something different — and to speculate about their backgrounds in the process. Taking over artisan's Gallery 1 until April 9, the exhibition also marks the beginning of the venue's partnership with Queensland College of Art, showcasing QCA's best student, staff and alumni work.