CUTE TOMB

“As a teenager I used to write my friends letters. We would pass around notes in class and deliver them to each other’s lockers, sharing schoolyard gossip, latest crushes and reflections on the day. Without thinking, I became an avid hoarder of these notes. Over the course of my school years I accumulated quite the stash – adding them daily to my kindergarten lunch tin.

As I stepped into adulthood and the digital age, I promptly forgot about this stockpile of handwritten notes, only to stumble upon them again when I moved into my own home a few years ago. Upon reading the contents, I was shocked to encounter the people and stories that were reflected back in the pages. It was as though these letters had been written by total strangers.

After reading through each one, I was compelled to find a way to process this unexpected encounter with my ‘past self’ and my forgotten friendships. In order to do this, I used each letter as stimulus to create automatic, abstract illustrations, paintings and sculptures.

This series is a meditation and reflection on my personal quest for catharsis and understanding of how my past identity evolved into its current iteration. Some letters have been encased or ‘embalmed’ in the surfaces of paintings. Others have been absorbed and assimilated into the heart of the massy sculptures. The rest have simply acted as stimulus for the many layers of colourful exploration.

This meditation and exploration will culminate in 24-hour straight drawing installations, where I will create 100 small drawings on paper to be sold, as well as a public, ceremonial burning of notes and letters to our past identities.”

ABOUT RACHEL BURKE

Rachel Burke is a multi-disciplinary artist and designer based in Brisbane, Australia. She creates automatic naïve drawings, sculptures, installations and wearable art pieces out of craft-based materials. Her work explores themes of memory, identity, friendship and nostalgia.

Her works and installations have been exhibited in galleries and spaces around Australia, including ACMI, Gaffa Gallery, Redlands Art Gallery, QPAC and The Print Bar. She has spoken about her art practice with TEDx, Creative Mornings, Craft Victoria, Frankie Magazine and has published two craft books with Hardie Grant. Rachel has also collaborated with iconic brands and major celebrities, the most recent include, with Disney, LEGO, Visa and Sephora. She has created wearable pieces for Kesha’s world tour, Mindy Kaling, Ru Paul’s Drag Race which stars Kim Chi, Naomi Smalls and Detox, she has also done work for Alia Shawkat, Dani Minogue and for Beyonce’s daughter Blue Ivy. She was even commissioned to create a tinsel chair for Miley Cyrus last year and shipped it to Miley’s home in LA.

Creating opportunities for creative engagement with the community is a key part of Rachel’s art practice. She achieves this via regular ‘Bad Art Nights’ at QAGOMA, public workshops and also through her ongoing community art project Apomogy. She has had one small exhibit of Apomogy at GAFFA as part of a group show.