What is the Oscillocene? What are the Warawana Mythologies? And who is the Weaver? Designer Elliat Rich’s new exhibition at Canberra Glassworks is not only a collection of design objects made during her residency there: it’s also an expression of a deeply considered view of the world that values the interconnectedness of all things.
Elliat Rich is a conceptual designer, which means her work is grounded in concepts or ideas. Creating just another chair in a world saturated with objects holds no interest for her. Her new exhibition at Canberra Glassworks shows designed objects made during her residency, drawing together ideas and values inspired by 20 years of living in Alice Springs and a year of historical research, courtesy of a Northern Territory government fellowship. The result is her research-driven conception of how we understand the present world, which she calls the “Oscillocene” because we are constantly oscillating from one thing to the next.
This is where the Warawana Mythologies come in – “wara” from waratah and “wana” from Gondwana. These are the stories – rooted in ancient mythologies but also informed by science – that Rich tells through her work.
Central to the Warawana Mythologies is the dismantling of three “shadow metaphors” that have informed history. In the exhibition, the three concepts that replace them are represented by three mirrors. The first, “all matter are creating equal”, represents the idea of a world without hierarchy, in which all beings and all matter are equal. It’s an oval cluster of pebble-like shapes made of different materials, including metal, glass, stone and wood. A second mirror, titled “the world is made of relative”, shows how all things are woven together. We’re so used to pulling everything apart and categorising each part that we don’t perceive the importance of their interactions. Even atoms – and quarks within atoms – only form matter because of the way they behave in relation to each other. Here, the materials manifest in four fragments of coloured glass that skirt the edges of a central mirror.
The third mirror, “time is queer, Place is present”, explores how time is experienced differently, from the atomic to geological scale. This consists of mirrored shapes overlapping with ink on aluminium in generous swirls. These three mirrors are not only the tenets of the basis for Rich’s world view but give you an idea of the range of materials and techniques she has employed in her residency.
In opening up its artist residency program to artists of all disciplines, Canberra Glassworks has transformed its program into something exceptional. Each artist has an opportunity to work closely with glass artists and technicians to test new ideas in an experimental and iterative process. This enabled Rich and her collaborators to develop innovative techniques. The Waratah Lamps, for example, were made using a technique the team developed together that bends fluted glass to form long and elegant overlapping shades. The lamps were originally inspired by how neon light moves through fluted glass.
A series of Alter mirrors, made with a blown glass technique and mirroring effect, are like sentinels about the size of a bust sculpture. With flattened, blown glass tops and metal or stone bases, these represent the idea of polytemporality, reflecting and distorting our sense of self. The one on the end also has a burnt look, a happy accident in the workshop.
The Shimmer cabinet, also made of glass but not in the workshops, is a piece of furniture with a brass frame and two sheets of patterned glass that overlap as its doors slide open. The work was inspired by the concept of the “shimmer”, an invisible force that surrounds and enables life, as described in Deborah Bird Rose’s essay “Shimmer: When all you love is being trashed”. This concept originated with the Gurindji peoples of the Victoria River region of the Northern Territory. The patterned glass is designed to overlap to create a moiré effect when the doors are opened.
Other works in the exhibition are not made of glass. The Weaver’s Cloak is a textile work covered in pieces of looped fibre (custom-made hair samples) in various colours of silver, blue and gold. According to Rich’s mythology, the cloak is worn as part of a ritual dance to honour the Weaver, a key figure of the mythologies. The Weaver is the creator of the world who weaves the thread of our lives together, and all matter too. They take the form of birds or pollinators. The Weftle bottle collection consists of about 30 different tiny bottles on a shelf – some made in the glass workshop and some found. This work is also about the Weaver – each bottle contains a hair of the Weaver, collected through a hero’s journey.
A far cry from the “another chair” crowd, Elliat Rich has created an exhibition of objects brimming with ideas, complete with their own mythologies, characters and stories. Her world-building is inspired by ancient mythologies, but here they are reimagined. Far from being mere “design fictions”, these ideas resonate because they offer an optimistic and alternative way of viewing a damaged world.
One final Warawana story is so magical it might change how you view and value one of our most beautiful daily occurrences – the sunset. The Gradient drawers are a small set of drawers made with see-through acrylic rods stacked together. According to Rich’s mythologies, “The Gradients” are giant mythical entities that collect all the colour in the world at the end of each day and appear as sunsets. After keeping the colour safe overnight, they then spread it over the world each morning through the sunrise.
Mythica Ignota: Artefacts of the Oscillocene and the Warawana Mythologies is showing at Canberra Glassworks until December 15.
This article was first published in the print edition of The Saturday Paper on
October 19, 2024 as “Through glass darkly”.
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