Sentinels, a new work by artist Catriona Stanton has been commissioned by Hazelhurst Arts Centre.
The work references the construction of natural architectural forms or makeshift habitats following fire and flood. The organic woven sculptures point to a sustainable future through working with the ubiquitous, resilient and flexible material of bamboo.
The vertical orientation of these human-scale forms and the spacing of I.5m that we have all come to know as social distancing, alludes to the experience of being together yet apart during the world crisis of COVID 19 said artist Catriona Stanton. These skeletal sentinels have a lightness of being. They express our vulnerability of dealing with something so unseen, while being resilient and adaptable she added.
Carrie Kibbler, Curator at Hazelhurst invited the artist to submit a proposal for an outdoor installation following a residency at Hazelhurst in February 2020 when she began producing these forms.
She says: With numbers limited in the gallery due to social distancing this presented an opportunity to take artworks into the outdoors. Sentinels encourages visitors to engage with the stunning and sprawling grounds at Hazelhurst, particularly as the gardens flourish during the warming months of spring. Visitors are invited to walk through the installation or quietly sit and contemplate the work.
Sentinels is located in the Hazelhurst gardens, adjacent to the original Hazelhurst cottage. It will be on display until 30 November 2020.
About Catriona Stanton
Catriona Stanton initially trained in traditional methods of sculpture under Tom Bass in Sydney before extending her practice into the fields of performance, video and site specific installations on arrival in Darwin in the mid nineties. Since then her work has been included in the Helen Lempriere Travelling Art Exhibition, Perspecta 99, The ABN AMRO Emerging Art Award and Woollahra Sculpture Prize of Sydney. Further afield work has featured in Wales, UK, Canada, Duo, USA and Sri Lanka. Stanton returned to Darwin to complete her Masters by Research at Charles Darwin University. More recently she has completed two major public commissions in Darwin, Flock at the Darwin International Airport and Canopy at Casuarina Square Food Court.