Combined Schools Exhibition Opening Night

Recently I attended the opening night of Combined Schools Exhibition at BRAG. The exhibition is made up of works by talented artists from schools in the Bundaberg area from grades 10 to 12. The works have to be chosen by the gallery to be exhibited. I was lucky to have two of my works selected by the gallery. My first work is a sculpture with breathing audio which came out from inside through the many tubes. The work is about when Grandad was on a life support breathing machine I felt like I was like a box, in the way that a box holds things together. I am the box. I wanted to breathe for him, when he could not, I wanted to breathe for my family in this hard time when they were struggling to breathe themselves.I am the oxygen flowing through the tubes keeping him alive, keeping them all breathing. The clarity of the materials used represent that although I was being strong holding everyone together, inside I was fragile, clear like glass.

This work depicts my recent state of being. Neuphrotic Syndrome was causing excessive water retention. My body was swollen. I am the bags of water. I felt heavily weighed down by water. My mother and Grandmother were keeping me afloat, signified by their hand casts.

I had such a great night, my friends Angela, Theo and Louise and my family came to support me. I caught up with my principal too.
Chels xx