Designed and made by Catherine Truman (born 1957), who trained in jewellery/metalsmithing and teaching in South Australia. In 1985 she co-founded the Gray Street Workshop in Adelaide: a co-operative access jewellery workshop whose 'members were drawn together out of a shared belief that jewellery has the potential to express personal, social and environmental politics; issues beyond the purely decorative'. She has exhibited consistently since the early 1980s, and in 1990 studied with contemporary netsuke carvers in Japan. 'Catherine Truman's work is informed by a strong political consciousness, tempered by a lyrical approach to imagery and materials'. In 'Fish Carvings', an exhibition...in 1987, she used the fish as a metaphor for continued growth, carving a series of works which dealt with the moral and physical dilemmas faced by the aged in contemporary Western society. More recent works have dealt with social issues such as housing, shelter and ecological concerns. The carving process is a vital part of Catherine's work. As well as finding the process deeply satisfying she cites the choice of material and technique, which forms the foundation of the richly detailed surfaces of her work, as an important 'tool' for establishing a relationship between her subject matter and the viewer.' (Anne Brennan, in catalogue 'Lifeboat', 1992). These works appear to be metaphors to do with questions of eg. inner and outer lives, journeys, passengers, ambiguous narratives, individuals and society.
In a phone interview in July 1995, Truman added: Making these works was a
natural progression for her as a jeweller; they are about the body rather than
for the body. They are a very personal expression of her interpretation of the
spirit and flesh - a movement on from the more literal translation of shelter
and housing of previous work. Truman's choice of materials is deliberate. She
uses wood because the audience understands the material and forms a basic
relationship with it, and mother of pearl because it is suitable for the fish,
but also because it is seductive, it seduces the viewer with its colour and
surface.
In this work, the skins are made to appear translucent and fragile; they show how we mask appearances but how easy it is to see through them.
Made by Catherine Truman at the Gray Street Workshop in Adelaide, 1992, as part of the travelling exhibition 'Lifeboat'. The carvings derive in part from Truman's interest in the Japanese netsuke tradition of small carved ornaments for eg. belt-toggles.
Owned by the artist, while the work travelled to a number of exhibition venues
in Australia during 1993-1994, including the Craftspace Gallery of the Crafts
Council of NSW in March 1995.
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