Vessel

BACKGROUND Australian Hollow Ware has not received the same national or international profile as Australian contemporary jewellery, two exceptions being at the Victoria and Albert Museum, London (2000) and Galerie Marzee, The Netherlands (2009). This exhibition brings together works by outstanding national practitioners working in the field of silver and metalwork, including Joungmee Do, Karl Millard, Tracy Pateman, Robin Bold and Robert Foster. The Bendigo Art Gallery Contemporary Australian Silver and Metalwork Award 2013, the only national award exhibition dedicated to Australian Hollow Ware, recognised the need to place it in a more developed national context. CONTRIBUTION Current Hollow Ware practice concerns itself with the craft object as a self-contained entity through exhibition practice. The work Vessel extends this research to the possibilities of the craft object as a trigger to engage the present through making, habitation and encounter. Through considering relationships of the works to the space of home, the aim was for the research to 're-route' fine craft objects as framing elements experienced in domestic daily life. This places them somewhere between well-designed objects that people enjoy and use, and finely crafted autonomous art objects generally seen in exhibition. The aim is not to didactically influence the audience views, but to investigate the potential for richness in a domestic context. Underpinning this is the process of material production, particularly the use of refractory metals like titanium and niobium. Research and experimentation in the use of these materials adds new knowledge and significations in the production of hollow ware. SIGNIFICANCE Only one-third of the 150 entries received were chosen for this biennial award exhibition that promotes excellence and innovation in Australian metalwork. Karen Quinlan, Director of the Bendigo Gallery, described it as a "significant exhibition of current practice across Australia.