– JULIA SUTTON & PAULINE WHITE

“The way we see the world shapes the way we treat it; if a mountain is a deity, not a pile of ore; if a river is one of the veins of the land, not potential irrigation water; if a forest is a sacred grove, not timber; if other species are biological kin, not resources; or if the planet is our mother, not an opportunity – then we will treat each other with greater respect. This is the challenge, to look at the world from a different perspective”. –

David Suzuki

In our culture of duality there is a sensory hierarchy where sight is privileged. This is evidenced in the history of landscape representation in galleries and museums.

In Veriditas Jupa have freed the canvas from the frame physically and metaphorically. This freedom allows Jupa the flexibility to explore and elevate the other senses particularly touch, sound and smell to form a deeper relationship with nature rather than an observation of it.

Embedding the canvas with the elements of Fire, Water, Wood, Air and metal resulted in the alchemical transformation of eucalyptus and fencing wire to become the substrate for their mark making process.

Their threads were chosen from the list of historical sutures which include gold, cotton, flax, silk, some being dyed with eucalyptus or tea. Thread from teabags were used as mapping time. Relationships are formed over time and tea. “Our practice recorded our sights, sounds and feelings by working en Plein air for 3 months. By using the process of slow suture stitching, plus mark making with stitches of mending and repair we could enter the space where nature dwells and with our senses heightened and more finely tuned we could connect and communicate on levels beyond the visual. We gained an intimacy of exchange with the natural world and the experience of being part of the one organism.”

JUPA is the name of collaborative contemporary artist duo Julia Sutton and Pauline White.

Their partnership began in 2010 with many collaborative community projects and exhibitions such as Trunk art, Bassendean, 2010 – 2012, Swan Song WA Museum Boola Bardip 2012, MegaFlora Chogamosis, Urban Orchard 2012, Vivacious Vistas, Trek the Trail Mundaring 2011 and Fred’s Bed, Holmes a Court Gallery, 2022. Their work together involves developing a language through the use of tactile processes and video to express their feelings and ideas about the uneasy relationship between humans and nature.

JUPA

Veriditas 2023

Canvas, gauze and natural dyed threads, wax, sticks, fencing wire and video media

Pauline graduated from Curtin University in 1991 with a Bachelor of Arts, Fine art and Visual Art and in 2000 with a Master of Arts and has worked as a Lecturer, Curator, Public Artist and artist.

Julia graduated from Curtin University in 2009 with a Associate Degree in Visual Arts and has worked as a tutor, Curator and Public artist and Artist.

Sarah Keirle creates contemporary ceramic sculptures inspired by the unique splendour of seedpods found in the Australian Bush. Released is her latest ceramic sculpture, depicting Banksia menzisii as part of The Seedpod Series, a body of work inspired by the flora of the Darling Range Jarrah/Marri Forest (Perth Hills Region) of Western Australia. This region is part of south-west botanical province, a UNESCO biodiversity hot spot known for its flora and fauna species, many of which are under threat from climate change and development.

The Seedpod Series has been designed and hand-sculptured to reflect the unique shapes of native seedpods; these vessels, these exceptional forms often overlooked or taken for granted but holding precious future potential within. Sarah’s sculptural representation of nuts, banksias and marri seedpods is a modern take, stepping away from traditional botanical work. The works represent the intense environment Australians live in where the natural disaster of bushfires can be devastating, but also important for regeneration and new life.

All work is designed and produced by Sarah at her studio in Lesmurdie where she hand-builds ceramic pieces using slab, coil, and pinching techniques. She uses the primitive firing technique of Raku with her sculptural pieces and there is personal pleasure, risk, and respect in this rapid firing method. Once high temperatures are reached, the work is quickly taken out and placed in sawdust and paper, where the movement of flames and smoke from burning materials gives a unique serendipity effect to each piece. It is this combination of glaze, fire and form that makes each piece completely unique, and captures the characteristics and intensity of bushfires as natural phenomena.

Sarah finds the finished pieces group well together especially when achieving a juxtaposition of species, textures, and marks, reminiscent of a scientific collection.

Sarah Keirle was born in England and studied at Staffordshire University (UK). Sarah graduated with a BA Hons. 3D Design: Ceramics in 1998 and immigrated to Perth, Western Australia in the same year.

Sarah started professionally in 2000, and now calls Perth Hills her home with her husband, who built her a ceramic studio, where she creates one-of-a-kind Raku ceramic sculptures inspired by the iconic flora in the Western Australian bush. The hand-sculptured forms reflect the unique shapes of the native Australian seedpods, and the primitive firing technique of Raku captures the characteristics and intensity of the natural disaster of bushfires. These pieces embody the biological importance of fire for regeneration and new life.