Sunday, October 7, 2007

Measuring Up


Last year I gave in ! Sick of the Great Australian Rental Scam, I signed away and took out the dreaded lifelong bank mortgage for my first home. Each month, on Repayment Day I think of all the (other) things I could do/would rather do with money ...

Anyway, when I was in Brisbane in June, I went in one of those ridiculously large
Ikea stores full of mass-produced goods from China, oops I mean Sweden. The whole material culture is just insane - the (in)security of massive home loans (and always increasing interest rates - thanks Howard), the need to fill hard-earned homes with shit you don't really use and certainly don't need.  Ikea's slogan - affordable solutions for better living.


I didn't buy anything from Ikea but instead 'acquired' some of the lovely little paper measuring tapes they give you as you walk around the store to make sure everything you buy fits just right. Lately I have been shredding the measuring tapes and random weaving with them. No easy feat! 

I am playing with the idea of nests paradoxically as security and fragility.


I love how these have turned out! Initially I was worried that structurally these forms were weak and tried other weaving techniques; later realising that the lack of structural support in these forms provided a perfect metaphor for the whole mythology of home ownership/living in debt to the bank. It is also an appropriate comment on the fragile lives of so many that are affected by free markets and labour exploitation by multinationals corporations.

Anyway, not sure where these pieces/ideas are headed, for now they are sitting around brewing.

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