Overview
For chef Kylie Kwong, it’s artworks. For artist William Yang, it’s Chinese scrolls. For director Will Edwards, it’s marbles. The ancient, eccentric art of collecting continues. Despite virtualisation, there’s no substitute for an object with history.
To celebrate this, Carriageworks and BresicWhitney have commissioned renowned photographer Daniel Boud to photograph ten notable Sydneysiders with the things they love. Between November 4 and December 7, the resulting artworks will appear on Instagram, hashtagged #TheThingsILove (with a heart emoji).
We see Kwong in her Potts Point-based restaurant, Billy Kwong, holding a Tibetan yak’s skull, surrounded by statues and blown glass. “It was important to me that the space was filled with energy and soulfulness," she says. "[These artworks] are especially close to my heart because they remind me of how important the spiritual dimension is in life.”
Meanwhile, Boud depicts artist Abdul Abdullah masked with the Australian flag. “I collect and use nationalist memorabilia in my work as signifiers of difference," says Abdullah. "The Southern Cross and Union Jack in recent contexts has become as much about what and who it doesn’t represent, as much as what it does … These symbols have become signifiers of rejection for large sections of the Australian community.”
And a collection of resin and plastics back drops a close-up of artist Louise Zhang. “I collect [these] from my artworks because each piece is accidental and unique – bits that have fallen off, spills that solidified, hiccups in the way they've set," she says. "They remind me of fake gemstones, precious, but as plastic, and cheap as half the stock in the $2 shop. Perhaps it's the novelty of the unexpected.”
The other five Sydneysiders depicted are architect Penelope Seidler with miniature building models from all over the world, fashion designers Deborah Sams and Mary Lou Ryan (Bassike) with vintage kimonos and Levi’s, TEES front woman Elizabeth Tillman with pewter goblets, actor Rarriwuy Hick with badges and ABC Classic FM host Julian Day with books.
Carriageworks and BresicWhitney invites you to join the Instagram exhibition, by posting a photograph of yourself with your unique collection tagged with @carriageworks and @bresicwhitney and the hashtag #TheThingsILove. The best photo will win a ten-year Carriageworks Friends Membership worth $1000 and a Daniel Boud print. Keep an ear out on Friday, December 11 for the announcement of the winner.
Images: Daniel Boud.
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