Purity and Danger
Mixed media Cabinet Installation
2 cabinets containing 10 pieces each
Cabinet - 85cm H x 155cm L x 53cm W

Cabinet works that echo ritual objects embody the clash between purity and danger. First Fleet colonist journal entries highlight the contrast between ‘known and unknown’ landscapes. Viewing this new environment through the eyes and security of the familiar presented risk. Were those early colonists unable to “see” the mysterious new land? Has that affected our ongoing relationship with flora and fauna?

Anthropologist Mary Douglas’ Purity and Danger (1966) considered cultural categorisation that separates clean from unclean (the Abominations of Leviticus ) – acceptance from avoidance.

Exhibited: Gallery 152,
Holmes a Court Gallery