Accumulations

At the Heathcote-Avon/Ihutai Estuary. The water is so calm, it looks like silk. I’m thinking that my next work will be associated with this body of water. I have done works inspired by the Opawaho-Heathcote river, I have done works inspired by the Otakaro-Avon river. It is fitting to now do a work inspired by the combing of these two waters with the ocean. 

Embrace, clay and sand. Gather, sediment on paper. Both by Rubee Prattley-Jones. Exhibition at Absolutions, The Tannery, Christchurch.

Process of one of my final drawings. They were on a slight lean for the top half, and the bottom half was flat with the sides propped up. Then I poured the sediment and water from the top so it flowed down creating a puddle and directional marks. There was a subtle fade and ring marks at the bottom that were pleasing.

Some early experiments using river sediment to form ‘pour’ drawings and clay to mimic the motion of water.

This is the spot. This is where I collected sediment from the Opawaho-Heathcote river. I have been working towards a solo exhibition, things have been hectic. Most trips to the river are calming for me, or at least lightens my spirits. This day was dreary and raining. I lent down to a crevice that sediment and water had accumulated in between some tree roots by the side of the river down a small bank. I had to keep my balance and not slip on the mud. It smelt terrible - which I later found out was most likely from the toxic levels of pollution from various factories and sediment run-off from the port hills. This sediment and water I collected that day was precious art materials, but also an uncomfortable and foul sample of a larger problem.

Saw this magical pool in Riccarton Bush after a few days of rain. It felt like it would have no bottom to it, just an endless tunnel of dark water.

Ripples. More photos of the Otakaro-Avon river. Went on a long bike ride through the red zone Christchurch, using the river as my guide. The water was pretty similar throughout, otherwise it was like a completely different place to the city and the rest of the suburbs. Damaged roads bordered on residential sections with trees and mowed lawns, but no houses or buildings of any sort - as if they had been edited out. The river was calming - it was nice to be in a deserted place, but it was also kind of unsettling. The river was moody today, partially because it was reflecting the weather (cloudy and grey, raining on and off) but also took on my interpretation of it. Energetic in parts, smooth and relaxed in other parts. 

In Motion, clay, as part on It’s Only Natural at CoCA Christchurch. Hand moulded objects based on memories of the motion of the Otakaro-Avon river. Thinking about the ripples and eddies and constant flow of the water. How it slides over the rocks and rubbish, moved by the winds, flooded by the rains, disturbed by the lightest touch on the surface. Water is malleable. It is changeable. It is easy to manipulate, but it also has great power - to destroy and create. It pulls me to it.

Otakaro Interviews, part of It’s Only Natural (Living Room) at CoCA. A text work consisting of stories, memories, thoughts and feelings of Christchurch residents about the Otakaro-Avon river. This was a way of expanding my work for this show, making it about more than myself. I didn’t necessarily want to make a political or opinionated statement of my own (my work was more about the motion of the water) but I feel it was important to include others perspectives as there is a lot to talk about when it comes to the river.

It’s Only Natural (Living Room) by Artists Rubee Prattley-Jones, Olivia Isabel Smith and Matthew Joils. At CoCA Christchurch through collective The Social as part of the show Making Space. We created artworks based on collections, observations and conversations in central Christchurch. What we created had strong connections to nature, but also to the body and personal experience.

Holding Otakaro Interviews at CoCA to find out about peoples experiences of the Otakaro-Avon river Christchurch. Wanting to expand my perspective, find out what other people think and feel about the subject of my artwork. Not just collecting physical objects or things - expanding my practice to include accumulation of information, in this case the collection of memories, stories and moments. My own as well and others.