How can art and design change the way we engage with the environment? The theme ‘Environment and Place’ explores changes to our environment, and the role we play in creating, accepting or responding to these changes. Furthermore, how do these changes affect our sense of place and belonging? The works of art and design in this theme highlight the influence of place as part of the artist or designers’ identity, values and beliefs.

• Think about your home or school environment. What does it look like, sound like and feel like? How has it changed in recent years? What happened to create those changes?
• Now think of a different, more natural environment, like the bush or the sea or a national park. How is it different?
• Do you have any specific memories of visiting these places? How do they make you feel?
• How have these places changed over time? What role do humans play in changing or maintaining these areas?

Reflecting on your answers, what might the artists in the ‘Environment and place’ theme be trying to capture or express in their work? How does it relate to the concept of change?

Santa Cruz River, 2016–17, is a wool carpet, almost five meters long that maps the landscape of the Santa Cruz River in Argentina. Artist Alexandra Kehayoglou created the work in response to a proposal by Chinese and Argentinian companies, backed by the Argentinian government, to build two mega-hydroelectric dams along the river. The dams flood an area of around 400 square kilometres, covering fossil records millions of years old, burying the archaeological ruins of the indigenous Aónikenk or Tehuelche people and disrupting the natural ecology of the region.

In 2017, Kehayoglou joined a group of biologists, engineers, artists and activists and spent seven days canoeing down the river to research and document it. She created the carpet using the knowledge she gained from her journey, and drawing on her own heritage as her family has worked in the carpet-making industry for generations.

Kehayoglou uses her role as a designer as an opportunity to collaborate with others to raise awareness of vulnerable landscapes and inspire the viewer to protect these precious regions.

Discussion questions & activities

• Spend some time looking at the carpet. How do you think the artist feels about this place? Explain your answer.
• What does this work of art tell us about the artists’ values and beliefs?
• Kehayoglou raises awareness of endangered or vulnerable places through her work. Think of another example of an endangered place. What issue is currently affecting this landscape? How can you or your classmates raise awareness of this issue? Brainstorm a list of possible actions.

Additional Resources

• NGV channel: Video interview with the artist
• Great art idea: Beautiful planet

Paola Pivi lives in Anchorage in Alaska, where bears are a part of everyday life. She considers them her neighbours. Mama no more diapers, please, 2013, is part of her series of supernatural polar bears which challenges our perception of the animals. Each bear has a unique personality, expressed through the vibrant colours, their body language and playful poses.

Pivi wanted the polar bear to be as true to life as possible so she collaborated with a Canadian taxidermist to make the sculptures. A taxidermist is a person who preserves animals’ bodies by stuffing them so they can be displayed (but Pivi’s polar bear is made from plastic).

Through the sculpture, Pivi expresses her concern about the vulnerability of the natural world, ethical and ecological matters. In Alaska, wildlifeis increasingly at risk due to melting ice caps, ecological fragility and resource extraction. Through the representation of the polar bear, Pivi questions what it means to be human and how we relate to nature.

Discussion questions & activities

• Describe the polar bear in three words.
  Consider the polar bear’s characteristics, personality or demeanour. For example, pink, shabby and playful.
• Why do you think Paola Pivi chose to make her polar bear pink? How might you view it differently if it was white like a real polar bear?
• How does the artist create a sense of friendship or connection between the viewer and the polar bear? Think about features of the artwork, such as the title and materials and colours used. Why is this important when viewing the work?
• Pivi’s sculpture of a polar bear gives us an insight into the place she lives. Where do you think that might be? What significance does this have in the creation of her work?

Additional Resource

• NGV Essay: Paola Pivi: You Started it…I Finish it

Due to the NGV procedures regarding light sensitive objects, this work has been removed from display for the remainder of the exhibition.

Clinton Naina is an artist who paints using domestic materials such as heritage coloured house paint, bitumen paint and household bleach. During Victoria’s COVID-19 lockdown, he often saw single-use materials, like face masks, discarded on the streets so he produced Landfill, 2020, in response to this escalating problem of landfill. As he states³:

Remnants and evidence from the used only once popular commercial culture and disregarded throw away world.

Bits and pieces on capitalism, imperialism and colonialism, all gathered together creating a consumers’ burial site, hidden deeply into our sacred earth.

Colourful, shiny synthetic plastic objects, manufactured from toxic poisonous chemicals and gases forever there bleaching, polluting and looting our natural ecosystems.

For the sake of the first world economy and someone’s so called wealth and greed.

Safe, light blue surgical masks, worn to prevent the spread of airborne illness, death and disease.

A white plastic shopping bag lies empty, full of nothingness, at a price that no one can really afford.

Used only once more, that’s all.

As Landfill.

By creating Landfill, Naina hopes that we can remain positive, looking for change in the way we live and exist by learning from one another. He says, ‘We haven’t looked through the sovereign people’s lens to create a change. But once we do have a look through that lens, for that change, it’s possible that could happen. We’re still here. The land is still here. It’s not too late.’⁴

Discussion questions & activities

• Read the statement by Clinton Naina whilst viewing Landfill. What issues/concerns does Naina address in his work? What makes you say that?
• Naina uses domestic materials in his work; Landfill was made using bleach (White King) on cotton. Why do you think the artist chooses to work with these materials? What significance does this have in interpreting his work?
• Think about the Indigenous perspective of the landscape represented in Naina’s work. What can we learn from this? How does this address the issues discussed and help shape our future? You might also like to explore the artist’s work in the the exhibition Big Weather to support your answers to this question.⁵

For 150 year, Rorschach, 2019, artist Ben Quilty has depicted a landscape familiar to him from bushwalks in the NSW Southern Highlands. He received permission from the Gundangara people, the traditional owners of the land, to make the work. Waterholes, like the one in the painting, are deeply important sacred locations for the Gundangara people; they used them as birth sites for thousands of years.

Quilty describes the waterholes as ‘…incredibly beautiful, surrounded by tea-trees…’. However, over the years, the importance of indigenous history has been denied and the area has been treated poorly. The rocks on the walk to the waterhole have been covered in graffiti, chiselled with people’s initials and messages such as ‘Dean loves Julie.’ During one visit Quilty and his son came across a National Parks and Wildlife sign that described the location as:

a favourite gathering place for locals for more than 150 years. With beautiful ferns and moss-covered rocks, it provides a quiet haven for swimming or just relaxing in the cool, quiet surrounds.

To create this work, Quilty painted an image and pressed this on to another canvas while the paint was still wet so it resembles an inkblot. Inkblot images are used in Rorschach tests; a psychological test where an individual is asked to respond to an inkblot image by describing what they see. The individual’s response is thought to reveal insights into their personality and emotions. This idea of people looking at the same thing but interpreting something different is echoed in Quilty’s painting.

Introduced species including a fox, toad, goat and cat can be found in the landscape, also symbolising Western culture blocking or obscuring the truth. The white ghostly figure represents a sculpture by French artist Auguste Rodin (1840-1917) of a ballet dancing friend. Here, Quilty references a belief of Western civilisation ‘being better than everyone else.’⁶

Discussion questions & activities

• Spend some time looking at Quilty’s painting. What do you see, think and wonder?
• What does Quilty see, think and feel about the place that inspired his artwork? How has he expressed this in his work?
• What is the Rorschach test? What connections or parallels can you make between Quilty’s work and this test?
• Describe the creatures amongst the landscape. What do they symbolise or represent? How do they add meaning to Quilty’s work?
• How does this artwork relate to the theme of change? Can change be positive or negative, or both? Can you think of any other examples of negative changes caused by European migration to Australia?

Additional Resources

• NGV Essay, Ben Quilty on 150 year, Rorschach 2019
• Art and Change with Ben Quilty Video

In what ways are art and design tools for activism? The ‘Activism and protest’ section of the exhibition explores art and design as a vehicle for highlighting the things that matter most to us. The events or issues that provoke activism and protest can be global issues, such as climate emergency, feminism, the #MeToo and Black Lives Matter movements or deeply individual, personal issues that play out in the family home, in school or social environments.

• What does it mean to be an activist or to protest about something? What is the difference between the two terms?
• Think about a time where you may have protested or expressed your opinion about an issue or topic that mattered to you. It could be something small and personal, such as tidying your room, or a global issue such as climate change.
  • What was the issue?
  • What was your opinion or point of view and how did you express it?
  • What were the opposing perspectives on this issue?
  • How did it make you feel?
  • Why was it important to share your opinions or thoughts?
  • What was the outcome?
• What other ways can people protest or express their opinions on particular issues or topics? Brainstorm a list of examples.
• Did you consider art or design in your brainstorm? Why/why not?
• Can art or design be an effective tool in expressing opinions and influencing change? Discuss

Guerrilla Girls is a group of anonymous feminist artists and activists who call themselves ‘the conscience of the art world’.⁷ The collective formed in New York City in 1985 with the mission of bringing gender and racial inequality into focus within the greater arts community. They use posters, billboards, books, videos and live lectures featuring facts, humour and bold visuals to expose sexism and racism in politics, the art world and popular culture.

The term ’guerrilla’ is most commonly used in war to describe a small group who use unusual or sneaky tactics to fight larger more traditional military. When the Guerrilla Girls were a new group, their name was accidentally spelled as ‘Gorilla’; they took inspiration from this misspelling and wear gorilla masks during public appearances to protect their individual identities. They also adopt the names of iconic (now deceased) female artists such as Edmonia Lewis, Käthe Kollwitz and Frida Kahlo. The anonymity keeps the focus on the issues and away from who they might be: ‘We could be anyone and we are everywhere.’⁸

Discussion questions & activities

• Describe the Guerrilla Girls’ posters. What words or images stand out? What message or issues do you think are conveyed?
• What type of advertisements do you generally see? Where and when might you see them?
• The Guerrilla Girls have used advertising materials such as posters and billboards. How is this an effective way to address contemporary issues?
• We don’t even know who the Guerrilla Girls are! They choose to remain anonymous. Why do you think they choose to do this? If you were an artist advocating for change, would you like your identity to remain hidden? Discuss.
• Think of a time when something seemed unfair to you. It could be something in your family like having less time on your iPad compared to your brother or sister, or something you have heard about happening in the world. How could you make the situation fair for everyone?

Additional Resources

• NGV essay, Are You Listening? The Poster as a site for resistance
• Great art idea, Poster Design for Change

Ai Weiwei is a Chinese contemporary artists and social activist. Through his art, Ai Weiwei addresses global issues such as the relationship between tradition and modernity, the role of the individual and the state, human rights and freedom of expression.

The Neolithic vases he used to create this work are thousands of years old. Ai Weiwei dipped them into garish colours of industrial paint and left them to drip dry. While today, the vases are regarded as rare and valuable artifacts, in their own day they were most likely simple, functional pots and vessels.  The artist believes ‘by changing the meaning of the object, shaking its foundation, we are also changing our own condition. We can question what we are.’⁹

Discussion questions & activities

• What are some items you or your family value? What makes them significant to you?  How might someone else view this item?
• Select an item of value.
  This can be from your response to the previous question or something different; it could be a mobile phone or a watch handed down from family generations.
  Imagine that a famous artist splashed a layer of paint on this object. How would this make you feel? Has it changed the way you look at this object? Has it increased or decreased the value of this object? Discuss.
• What do you think Ai Weiwei means when he says ‘by changing the meaning of an object…We can question what we are’?
• How do objects change or have an impact on us or the society in which we live?
• How might this work be related to the theme of ‘Activism and Protest’?

Gilbert Baker

Rainbow flag is recognised as a symbol of pride and activism for the LGBTIQ2A+ community. Each of the six coloured stripes represents a different meaning: red for life, orange for healing, yellow for sunlight, green for nature, blue for serenity, and violet for spirit. The flag was created in 1978 by Gilbert Baker, an American activist and designer, for the San Francisco Gay Freedom Day Parade. Baker refused to trademark his design so it’s available for everyone; today it is used around the world.

Yara Said

Syrian artist Yara Said designed Refugee flag for the first ever team of refugee athletes to compete at the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. The flag was designed by Said to be a unifying, international symbol for the growing number of displaced athletes around the world.

The bright orange flag with a bold black line references the life jackets worn by refugees while crossing dangerous seas to escape from conflict or persecution in their home countries. Said has a personal connection to the design of the flag, having sought refuge in Amsterdam from war torn Syria in 2011; her journey took almost a year and included nine countries and countless refugee camps along the way. As the designer states ‘black and orange is a symbol of solidarity with all these brave souls that had to cross the sea to look for safety in a new country. Since I had to wear one I also have a personal engagement with the life vests, with these two colours.’¹⁰

Said’s Refugee flag is an example of social design. It focuses on the inclusion and prioritisation of the needs of disadvantaged groups of people to effect social change for their community. Said’s Refugee flag not only represents the refugee athletes who competed in the 2016 Olympics but also the millions of displaced peoples across the world.

Discussion questions & activities

• What are flags for?
• Choose a flag of a country you know and describe it to your peers. What do the colours and symbols represent?
• What do you think the colours and symbols on each of these flags represent?
• How do you think these flags highlighted a need for change for the communities they represent? Do you think they were effective tools as a form of activism and protest? Discuss.

Additional Resources

• NGV Essay, Raising the Flag

Marlene Gilson’s art challenges colonial representations of historical events in Australia and highlights the involvement of Indigenous people.¹¹

The landing, 2018, depicts Lieutenant James Cook’s invasion of Botany Bay, and the people of the Eora Nation who encountered it. The scene is populated with ships, figures, trees and animals, and is imbued with a foreboding sense of drama as a turning point in Australia’s history.

For this painting, Gilson reworked a print called Captain Cook taking possession of the Australian continent on behalf of the British Crown, A.D. 1770, c. 1853-1864, by British painter Samuel Calvert.¹² Calvert’s print shows Cook and his officers raising the Union Jack flag while soldiers perform a gun salute and a band plays in the background. An Indigenous man wearing European clothing is offering a tray of drinks to the officers, while a small group of First Nations people appear to cower in the bushes. Unlike Calvert’s European perspective, Gilson’s The landing widens the landscape to show the First Nations people living on the land.

Gilson also drew inspiration from illustrations on biscuit tins, Indian miniatures and small dolls’ houses to provide this Wathaurung perspective on the story of colonisation. ‘Colonisation was a process of denying who was already there, the First Nations families and figures Gilson captures in lively habitation on land and water.’¹³

Discussion questions & activities

• Look closely at Gilson’s painting. What is happening?
• What perspectives, or narratives, are conveyed in The landing? How might this be similar or different to artworks created by European settlers of the time?¹⁴
  You may also wish to view the Landing of Captain Cook at Botany Bay, 1770 by E. Phillips Fox as a comparative work.
• How does Gilson’s painting have an impact on the way we view Australia’s colonial past?
• Considering your response from the previous question, does this help the way we might think about Australia now and in the future? What change/s do you hope for? How can we be part of these changes?

Additional resource

• Colony to Nation First Contact

How can art and design change the way we see our everyday world?

‘Celebrating the Everyday’ considers how artists and designers engage with everyday things: elevating moments, scenes or materials from daily life into something extraordinary. It emphasises the importance of local traditions, stories, routines, rituals and cultures, from remote and regional communities to urban and suburban life. Some artists and designers have used found objects, such as feathers and shells, or referenced the things we might see on a daily basis, like bicycles, in their work.

• What rituals, activities and objects do you do/ use every day? How do they form part of who you are or what you like?
• What rituals and objects might other people, such as those from a different culture or background, have? How might their experiences help us to think differently about our own experiences of the world?
• Why might an artist want to represent their everyday experiences and/ or use everyday objects and materials in their work? Why might it be important to document and share them?
• How do artists or designers change the way we perceive ‘ordinary’ or ‘everyday’ subjects, and why do you think they have done this?’

David Hockney is considered one of the most influential British artists of the twentieth century. His work explores traditional subjects of portraits, still life and landscapes, reimagined in new, contemporary ways.

From the late 1980s, Hockney started to incorporate technology in his art, including the use of photocopiers and fax machines. As technology developed, he began using an iPad to produce still life digital artworks, loving the range of colour, speed and mobility it offers. The iPad records each mark he made while creating his work, so he can look back on his process and challenge himself to draw more efficiently and faster.

David Hockney is a great advocate for looking closely; his desire to make art is connected to his love for observing a subject in great detail and with more intensity. He believes that traditional forms can always be reimagined: ‘there’s always another way of doing it.’¹⁵

Discussion questions & activities

• What objects can you see in Hockney’s pictures? Where are these objects usually found?
• Would you normally pay much attention to these objects? Conduct a quick ‘yes’ or ‘no’ vote. Explain your answer.
• Hockney encourages people to look closely, and with more intensity, at everyday objects. Facilitate a mystery item activity in pairs:
  • Select an object from around the room to describe to your partner. Imagine they have never seen this object before so be precise and elaborate with your description. Can your partner guess the item?
  • Did your description change the way your partner views this object? Discuss
• How does the way Hockney depict these objects change the way we see or look at them?

Additional Resources

• Great art idea, Everyday Moments: Inspired by David Hockney’s Digital Still Life Paintings
• NGV Channel, Hockney Unlocked

Claudia Moodoonuthi (b. 1995) is a Kaiadilt artist from Bentick Island in the Gulf of Carpenteria. She spent much of her childhood on Country with her family, fishing and hunting, developing a deep connection to the land and to the traditional ways of the Lardil and Kaiadilt peoples. These experiences are reflected through her bright and colourful artworks. Many of Moodoonuthi’s paintings depict waterholes, grasses, sea life and the many rocks off the coastline of Bentinck Island.

For her work 360 flip on country, 2014, Moodoonuthi collected discarded skateboards that reminded her of her childhood growing up on Bentinck Island. She covered them in traditional designs; the faces reference traditional Kaiadilt art and the bold striped and dotted compositions beneath the wheels reflect Lardil iconography. By working on these everyday objects she elevates their status – from everyday items to works of art that speak of identity, culture and place.

Discussion questions & activities

• Look at the front and back of the skateboards. What do you see? What might they tell us about the artist?
• Moodoonuthi collected once loved objects that remind her of the fun she had in her childhood. What objects are special to you and what makes them so special?
• How does this work connect to the theme ‘Celebrating the Everyday’?
• Think about everything you know so far about the work and the artist. How does it challenge or change your perceptions?

Additional Resources

• Great art idea, Celebrating the Everyday: inspired by Claudia Moodoonuthi’s 360 flip on country

Julian Opie is a British contemporary artist whose practice includes painting, sculpture and digital art. He has been making portraits since the 1990s, using a bold style to record the people he sees, reducing them to simple shapes and forms.

While planning City walkers, 2018, Opie asked a photographer to set up his camera in various places around Melbourne and record passers-by. The rules were simple: the camera needed to be at waist height, on level ground and as unnoticed as possible using a long lens. From the hundreds of photographs taken, Opie selected the best ones and drew them in his London studio. Each character is captured mid stride, providing a snapshot of their personality through their personal style choices such as their tattoos, hairstyles, or accessories.

Discussion questions & activities

• Choose a figure from Opie’s City walkers. What personality or interests do you think they have? What makes you say that? How has Opie captured their individuality?
• In City walkers, Opie uses the everyday ritual of walking in a creative and energetic way. How has he achieved this? Consider the use of line and shapes, the scale of his work and the techniques and materials used.
• Opie created this artwork for the NGV in 2018, showing people walking the streets of Melbourne. What similarities and differences would you see in the figures if Opie had created this artwork in 2020? Do you think the artwork would have the same meaning? Discuss.
• How might this work change way people view the world around them?

Additional Resources

• Great art idea, Graphic Portraits: Inspired by Julian Opie’s Walking in the Rain Series
• NGV Channel, Julian Opie, An Influential British Artist
• NGV Essay, Julian Opie Time Frozen

These Ku (or camp dogs) have been carved from soft timber by a group of artists from Aurukun, an area in western Cape York Peninsula, North Queensland. Wood carvings like these were traditionally used for ceremonies, created to represent members of the Aboriginal community’s totems and the natural environment. Today, the artists continue the wood carving traditional practice by creating the Ku as artworks.¹⁶

Each dog has its own personality and quirky expression. Artist Leigh Namponan based Brutus on one of his own pet dogs, he said ‘I mostly carve camp dogs because they are my totem and my grandmother’s totem.’¹⁷ In Aboriginal communities across the country, cheeky dogs are seen wandering the streets, stealing scraps and resting in the shade, they are respected creatures in their communities.

Discussion questions & activities

• What associations do we normally make with dogs? What reasons might you have for wanting to celebrate them?
• Ku is the Wik-Mungkan language name for the ‘camp dogs’ of Aurukun. What clues does it provide about the story behind these artworks? Why might it be important to use the artists’ own language when displaying and referring to artworks instead of translating it to English?
• What is the significance of a totem? Where might you see totems? How do they celebrate culture or identity?
• In the exhibition, lots of Ku have been displayed together. What effect does this have? How might you view them differently if only one was there?
• Now that you know a little more about the Ku, how do you think they relate to the concept of change?

How can art and design help shape our future?

‘Shaping the Future’ presents ways that artists and designers design and conceptualise the future, from personal stories of experience to new ways with traditional skills and processes. The works in this exhibition space invite us to think about what we value and hope for, exploring how social, cultural, environmental and technological factors can help us imagine our future differently.

• Imagine your world in fifty years. How old will you be? What does your future look like?
• What are things that are important to you now? And the future? Are they the same or different? Why?
• Think about a new invention or technology that shaped the world, such as the wheel, sliced bread, the light bulb, plastic or the internet.
  • How has this invention changed the world?
  • Does this invention continue to evolve over time?
  • What implications might this have for the future?

Consider ideas or concerns artists or designers might convey in their work about the future, such as waste and recycling. What materials, techniques and processes might the artist or designer use? Will these be traditional, new, and/or reimagined?

Due to the NGV procedures regarding light sensitive objects, this work has been removed from display for the remainder of the exhibition.

Dutch fashion designer Iris van Herpen creates garments for the future of fashion. Van Herpen began using 3D-printing to create garments while the technology was still quite new. She merges digital techniques with traditional couturier craftsmanship (luxurious tailoring) in a style sometimes called ‘Craftolution.’ Van Herpen collaborates with architects, scientists and engineers throughout her design process to continuously develop her knowledge and experience working with unconventional materials.

Dress, 2011, was designed for Icelandic singer Björk to wear during her 2011 Biophilia tour. It took several months to make and fuses machine and hand work to create the exaggerated forms. The dress is made from circular semi-transparent acrylic sheets that have been hand and laser cut and mounted to create a three-dimensional shell-like shape.

Discussion questions & activities

• Use similes to describe the colours, shapes and texture of Van Herpen’s Dress. For example, The dress is as blue as lightning in the night sky.
• Iris Van Herpen is inspired by dance and movement; she practised classical ballet for years and has designed garments for famous singers, including Beyonce, Lady Gaga and Björk. How has Van Herpen created a sense of movement and rhythm in Dress?
• What materials are used to make Dress? How do you think it was made?
• Who might Van Herpen need to work together with to successfully incorporate the use of new materials and technologies in her designs?
• How is Van Herpen shaping the future for fashion design? Can this be translated into other forms of fashion design, such as streetwear?

Additional Resources

• NGV Channel, Live In-Studio Artist Visit- Iris Van Herpen

Formafantasma is a design studio based in Amsterdam in the Netherlands. They rigorously investigate materials to create objects that disrupt the historical, political and social status quo.

For Ore Streams, 2016-17, the designers wanted to find out how electronic devices are produced and what happens once they are discarded. They conducted in depth research, interviews and material experimentations, and decided to create this series of objects from metals reclaimed from a range of electronic devices. The project aims to highlight the environmental and social impacts of our appetite for new technology, such as the consequences of the trade in rare earth minerals and electronic waste. The work encourages us to question our patterns of consumption and examine where the materials that make our consumer products come from, while offering an insight into how design could be put to work as an agent for a more efficient use, recovery and re-use of resources.

Discussion questions & activities

• Look closely at Formafantasma’s cabinet and chair. Which parts look familiar? Where might you have seen these parts before?
• What issue or concern do you think Formafantasma are trying to convey in their work? What makes you say that?
• What happens to old phones and computers when they are no longer used? How can this be harmful to the environment? What does Formafantasma want people to think about, and do, after viewing their work?
• Find out more about ways we can reduce and reuse e-waste. What is one thing you can do to make a difference? How can you encourage your family and friends to do the same?

Additional Resources

• NGV Channel, Formafantasma

Dutch designer Jólan van der Wiel invents tools and experimental processes that allow him to create new and unique forms. The process he followed to create Original gravity stool, 2011, is as unique as the object itself. He custom-designed and used ‘The Gravity Tool’ made with a large wooden frame and base. At either end of the frame, several strong magnets hold moulds which shape the base for a stool. When a mixture of coloured plastics (polyurethane) and iron powder (or filings) are poured into the mould, ‘The Gravity Tool’ draws apart the magnets, and a stool rises from the mixture. The shape is determined by the natural force of magnetism, so no two stools are the same. The Original gravity stool reflects the designer’s fascination with natural phenomena and working with unusual materials, shapes and ‘invisible’ forces.¹⁸

Discussion questions & activities

• Describe the texture of the stool. For example; rough, spikey and brittle. What does it remind you of?
• Jolan van der Wiel invented his own machine, ‘The Gravity Tool’, to make this stool. Brainstorm a list of other inventors and their inventions.
  • What skills and learning dispositions do/did they have?
  • What challenges and successes would they have experienced?
  • How did their inventions contribute to society and influence change?
• How might Van der Weil’s design process and product contribute to the future of design? What changes could they lead to?
• Which idea do you think came first; the Original gravity stool or ‘The Gravity Tool’? Discuss.

Additional resources

• Visit the artist’s website to watch a video of Original gravity stool being made
• Complete an activity exploring texture with the design work in We Change the World

Obalow (Mermaid), 2017, is made from a material called ghost net. Ghost nets are fishing nets that have been illegally discarded by workers on fishing vessels out in the oceans. They are called ghost nets because they are almost invisible in the water, causing issues for aquatic life by tangling up creatures and suffocating the marine fauna. Artists from Pormpuraaw in North Queensland began collecting the nets ten years ago to create lively, colourful woven sculptures just like this one.

Obalow, the mermaid, lives in fresh water country to the north of Pormpuraaw around the Holroyd River. This is the Country of Christine and Mylene Holroyd, and Obalow is the artists’ totem. Also known as kunnganga in Wik‑Mungkan language, Obalow are described as beautiful half fish/half humans which can be male or female and are known to wail or sing like a whale’s song.

Discussion questions & activities

• What connections can you make between the choice of material (ghost nets) and subject matter (mermaid)? What messages or issues do you think the artists are trying to convey in their work?
• What role or impact does the choice of materials have in addressing these issues? How might you interpret the artists’ intentions differently if they used another medium such as wood or stone? Discuss.
• What role or impact does the choice of subject matter have in addressing these issues? What do you think the significance of the mermaid is? Discuss.
• How might artworks like Obalow (Mermaid) help shape the future and influence change?