Banksia Ritual
Jamie Jude Smith
Backroom | Opens on Jun 7 until Jun 29 |
Banksia Ritual presents an exploration of identity and heritage through raw materials and found objects, exploring cultural transformation and belonging. A place of contemplating culture, re-imagining traditions and reclaiming heritage in a post-colonial world.
Banksia Ritual is an exhibition that explores the blending of Australian and Filipino identities through materials and forms that reflect the complexity and richness of cultural expression. Banksia pods and gum nuts, cast in white plaster, symbolise the Australian landscape, their raw forms contrasted with the unrefined textures of poorly-woven raffia, seagrass, lace, and bamboo. These materials speak not only to the untamed qualities of the land but also to how culture is shaped by history, memory, and lived experience.
The inclusion of found objects throughout the space highlights the process of searching for and re-imagining identity. Collected and re-contextualised, these objects reflect the fragmented nature of cultural inheritance, embodying the act of piecing together a sense of self from disparate elements. This process mirrors the way identity is often constructed from the varied pieces of history and the lingering effects of post-colonialism.
Banksia Ritual becomes a space for the exploration of cultural traditions through transformation and reinvention. Visitors are invited to engage in the act of self-reflection as raw materials, found objects, and reimagined forms converge to examine the nature of belonging. The exhibition reflects how traditions are not static but continually reshaped by those who carry them forward. Broken pieces, humble textures, and mismatched elements come together to form a new narrative of authenticity, identity, and cultural reclamation, acknowledging the past while embracing the possibilities of the future.
The inclusion of found objects throughout the space highlights the process of searching for and re-imagining identity. Collected and re-contextualised, these objects reflect the fragmented nature of cultural inheritance, embodying the act of piecing together a sense of self from disparate elements. This process mirrors the way identity is often constructed from the varied pieces of history and the lingering effects of post-colonialism.
Banksia Ritual becomes a space for the exploration of cultural traditions through transformation and reinvention. Visitors are invited to engage in the act of self-reflection as raw materials, found objects, and reimagined forms converge to examine the nature of belonging. The exhibition reflects how traditions are not static but continually reshaped by those who carry them forward. Broken pieces, humble textures, and mismatched elements come together to form a new narrative of authenticity, identity, and cultural reclamation, acknowledging the past while embracing the possibilities of the future.
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