Terracotta Worriers
Terracotta Worriers, 2020, are a doomed army of un-fired clay effigies charged with our collective fear. 120 worriers appear in sacrificial wastelands, march into a gallery, caught in their individual distractions, denials and delusions, to finally dissolve in gardens threatened environs. How are we all in this together?
Why do the privileged few shuffle on in denial, as communities in the sacrificial zones shout angrily that we need to take action?
Concept & development: Jen Lyons-Reid, Carl Kuddell
Sculptor: Lyn Lovegrove Niemz (with Ngarrindjeri community members)
Photos: Change Media and various participants
Video: Change Media (Johanis Lyons-Reid (camera), Piri Eddy (sound)
Terracotta Worriers at Signal Point Gallery Goolwa Jan 2021. Photo Johanis Lyons-Reid.
BUNKER RULZ 1: Obey denial. Fear can immobilize us. The Colony keeps us in fear to stifle our courage.
Why do the privileged few shuffle on in denial, as communities in the sacrificial zones shout angrily that we need to take action?
What are we scared of? How do we use daily distractions to deny what is happening globally? Who benefits from collective denial? How can we find courage to resist climate apartheid?
What risks are we willing to take?
Terracotta Worriers at Signal Point Gallery Goolwa Jan 2021. Photo Johanis Lyons-Reid.
Lyn Lovegrove Niemz collaborated with Jen Lyons-Reid and Carl Kuddell to sculpt Terracotta Worriers, an army of 120 unfired clay effigies carrying our collective denial and inertia. The full work was revealed at Signal Point Gallery Goolwa on Dec 11th.
How can we nurture courage to resist privileged ignorance?
Terracotta Worrier in sacrificial zone May 2020. Photo Change Media
Provocateurs corner: We conceived of Terracotta Worriers as a denialist army of exquisite pottery effigies adorned with daily distractions; clay phones, tablets, shopping trolleys. Essentially co-opted to become our tour guides, the ‘Worriers’ appear in all venues and across different media of the work, they march over and under dry river-beds, abandoned car parks, fire-ravaged bush and are left to decay in sacrificial zones.
Their goal is to remind us that we are bound together on this planet and to challenge the privileged ‘status quo’ myth that separates us. They are the guardians of our ignorance amidst complex crises and consumerist globalisation, and their myriad of emotions a crumbling reminder where avoidance, cowardice and fear can lead us.
Terracotta Worriers at Signal Point Gallery Goolwa Jan 2021. Photo Johanis Lyons-Reid.
Creative concept and curators: Jen Lyons-Reid & Carl Kuddell
Development: Jen Lyons-Reid, Carl Kuddell, Lyn Lovegrove Niemz
Sculpture: Lyn Lovegrove Niemz
Provocations, text and cartoons: Jen Lyons-Reid & Carl Kuddell
Poetry: Find our selection of 50 poems by 23 Australian poets here.
Photos: Change Media
Terracotta Worriers at Signal Point Gallery Goolwa Jan 2021. Photo Johanis Lyons-Reid.
120 Terracotta Worriers at Signal Point Gallery Goolwa, Dec 11 2020 - Jan 27 2021
Coral St Artspace Victor Harbor with 10 Worriers - Oct 9 - Nov 21, 2020
Fabrik Arts Lobethal with 10 Worriers - Nov 7 - Dec 6, 2020
Many sculptures have been adopted by participants in various locations across metropolitan and regional South Australia throughout 2021.
Website: https://www.thisbreath.space/
