Emma Pissent
PhD Art & Design
Emma Pinsent, ‘Coming together, falling apart’ 2023, Cotton voile, organic and inorganic matter from Arakwal beaches (saltwater, fungi, eroded coffee rock, rust from objects), copper oxide, thread and steel eyelets, H 2.5 x L 3.5 m. Image courtesy: Emma Pinsent. Photo: Emily Dimizantos.
Artist statement
Coming together, falling apart makes porous boundaries between the inside and outside. Made in collaboration with the local matter of Arakwal beaches in Northern NSW, the fabric was submerged in the ocean and left in the dunes for months to erode with the elements and rust from car bodies dumped on site. A ubiquitous feature in the domestic space, the now-weathered curtain invites the very elements we try to exclude. The work bears witness to the precarity of the coast, allowing us to bear witness to it, too.
@emmapinsent
