A Visual Arts graduate specialises in fictional tools for unknown purposes.

Anita Larkin (BVA ’93) was recently awarded a resident artist position at the Wollongong City Art Gallery. The award provides her with a studio space at the gallery for a year, $3,000 towards material costs, and a solo exhibition of her artwork at the gallery from 23 June to 9 July 2007.

The residency also involves a mentoring program in which the resident artist is available to offer assistance and advice to three young people wishing to further their artistic careers.

According to Anita, the residency will give her the opportunity to focus on a body of work which explores our relationships with collected objects, and how this informs our perceptions of sculpture. As part of her research, Anita will gather images and stories from members of the public about objects they feel a particular connection to.

Constructed from obsolete collected objects such as typewriter parts, wheels, old machines and tools, Anita’s sculptures are eclectic and intriguing, suggesting a hidden narrative. Segments of the sculptures are often wrapped in pages of textbooks or hand-made felt.

"I am interested in the role of function and dysfunction in sculpture," she says. "I often make fictional tools for unknown purposes. I have always been intrigued by the abandoned object, and seen in it the potential to create something new.

"I am fascinated by the stories discarded objects can tell, and how this informs the viewer's response to contemporary sculptural assemblages. I would like to think that my sculptures engage people in thinking about themselves or the world they inhabit a little differently, to see everyday things in a new light."

During her Wollongong residency Anita plans to make wool and felt sculptures which are large enough for people to fit inside. She says she is looking forward to sharing her knowledge of this ancient Mongolian art form.


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