Moving Magnolia
Sterling Silver
14 ⍉ x 17 h cm

Craft + Design Centre
Speculation Nation: Making Utopia
Curated by Penny Craswell
18 April - 1 July 2023

Photo credits
1. Courtesy of the Artist
2. Penny Craswell
3. + 4. 5foot Photography

Catalogue: https://craftanddesigncanberra.org/blogs/past-exhibitions-2024/speculation-nation-making-utopia

The Design Writer
http://thedesignwriter.com.au/speculation-nation-making-utopia

Moving Magnolia – uses the archetype of the vessel in contemporary craft and design making processes to make tangible the inter-connections between people and place using plants. The surface design pattern juxtaposes the visual metaphors of the magnolia flower to distil movement and migration. The magnolia is an ancient species of trees originating from the northern hemisphere. Because it is a plant adored for its beautiful large flowering shape, it is found in many countries around the world including Australia. I learnt that the common magnolia flower in Australia is the soulangeana hybrids, a cross between magnolia denudate and magnolia liliiflora. The cross fertilisation of the soulangeana helped it thrive in new soils and conditions and resulting in a new variety of flora. How the plant has taken root and adaptation to place is a lovely metaphor to consider the Australian cultural landscape today and in the future.

Reflecting on Australia’s complex and cultural fabrication, many of our stories are of a shared experience. Australia is respectively made up of our First Nations People. With time, settlers from the British colonies, people from war, exodus and voyages from economic change and resettlement have also made Australia home. By animating the magnolia on screen in motion, I was able to communicate the collisions, layering and intersections. The deconstructed magnolia formed a new kind of synthesis.

In Australia, we have experienced continuous flows of migration and cultural intersections contributing to diverse scenes and dialogues. By working with the identity of the magnolia flower, the image undergoes a series of adaptations, from graphic to lost wax casting, before returning to its new composition in metal. This transformation in design serves as a blueprint for how we envisage a Utopian Australia.