robyn phelan ceramics: Water Ways - What the trees have seen

Pleased to announce that this work has been shortlisted for the Wyndham Art Prize.

Huge kudos to the team at Wyndham City who has responded to the COVID-19 with a positive ingenious outcome:

It is with great regret that Wyndham City Council is cancelling all council-run events, activities or programs that are organised for the general public until further notice due to the evolving impact of COVID-19.While it is a very difficult decision to make, the health and safety of our community and staff must take precedence. This decision is consistent with actions taken at a State level to lock down all but essential services. We thank you for your understanding. That being said, and in the spirit of the show going on, we’ve decided that the Wyndham Art Prize must proceed in a new virtual form.

Water Ways -What the trees have seen

2020

porcelain clay and stains, steel, reclaimed redgum sleeper

h. 60 w. 82 d. 12 cm

Artist statement:

In Riverbend Historic Park there are three significant trees: eucalypts, peppercorns and a palm. They are silent survivors and silent observers of the way of water along the Werribee River. This is Wadawurrung country, a land that has incurred the histories of Chaffey’s irrigation ambitions, soldier settlement, markets gardens, and Melbourne’s expanding suburbs.
Three porcelain plaques narrate and record this history. Clay has been pressed onto each tree trunk. Additional text has been stamped on each plaque. The action is an intimate conversation, in correspondence and acknowledgment of the importance of water in this land and the deep, colonial and recent history of this place.