Morning Cuppa Meditation

40cm x 40cm x 3cm (wall hung with D-hangers)

Tea, recycled tea bag filter paper, timber, PVA

Finalist – Brisbane Art Prize 2017
 
SOLD
 

 
ARTIST STATEMENT:
 
As it hovers over the compost bin, does its life end here?
 
A fleeting thought and challenge – How do I transform screwed up, soggy tea bag into tactile, useable construction material? When does life start and end? What is ‘life’?
 
Lines, patterns and varying shades appear as the soggy, tea laden bags dry. Different textures and the coloured tea leaves within directly influence the tannin stained, tissue like fabric that results. Once dry, the meditative extraction of tea from the bag commences and the studio bench becomes littered with feather-light canvases, the artist awaits inspiration to extend their life.
 
The constructed circles of tea bags mirror the continuous cycle of life and the centre of preserved tea leaves, hold the secrets of the artworks creation. Patented in 1904 the first tea bag changed the way the product was sampled, sold, brewed and shared. Through my art practice I aim to inspire the viewer to look at everyday objects from a different angle and challenge ones perspective of life itself.
 
What surrounds you that you’re yet to appreciate or harness? How else can you experience and enjoy life today?