Pen, Ink and Country, No.3
Bowen Yang
Master of Architecture | University of Queensland
“Home is the interlocking contours of my potential past and definite future, woven together through my connection with COUNTRY.”
MATERIALS: Clay
Artist Statement
Home to me is not a mere physical place it is the amalgamation of abilities like drawing and writing that my parents instilled in me. These special gifts channel my ancestral connections and pave my path to the future. My LIVING BELONGING titled, "Home as Pen, Ink and Country, No.3" aligns and harmonises with my resonations of COUNTRY. Its elements have deeply challenged the nature of my BELONGING. The work summarises my experience of living in two different places in its developing duo-cylindric form, while celebrating my connections to the cultural landscape and material substances of Kombumerri COUNTRY in its materiality. The development of form and materiality reflects my existenceand new-recalibrated understanding of BELONGING and HOME.
Synopsis
HOME as Pen, Ink and COUNTRY, No.3" is the third iteration of my LIVING BELONGING and essence of my HOME through a Chinese calligraphy fountain pen gifted from my father. It is materially expressed in coiling pottery interacting My recollection of home was reenacted through memory of practicing writing with my pen. Those seemingly meaningless ink marks have become a significant part of my idea of HOME. It is fundamentally who I am. I then encountered the history and culture of Kombumerri COUNTRY. Through the stories like Jabreen and the Wise Men, COUNTRY served as an interface, recalibrating my understanding of HOME and BELONGING, extending my understanding of connection. "Home as Pen, Ink and COUNTRY, No.3" aligns and seeks to harmonise with the resonances of COUNTRY. It goes beyond mere physical landscapes to encompass my cultural, spiritual, and ancestral connections. In the traditions of First Nations peoples, COUNTRY represents the interconnected matrix of people, land, and lived experiences. Each experience is profound, much like my LIVING BELONGING, leaving a permanent mark that shapes my understanding of HOME. My experiences are not merely memories; they become the integral substance and form of my identity, celebrated through the sandy texture of Kombumerri materials and the coiling technique reflecting the accumulation of experiences that build one's sense of self and BELONGING.
My LIVING BELONGING encourages viewers to carefully consider its innate symmetrical yet non-superimposable relationship between up and down, inside and outside, the viewer and the viewed, and HOME and self. My journey is constantly acted and reacted with reference to HOME. It questions: "Who am I? Who are you? And where are we going?" This piece ambiguously questions the meaning and conception of self, HOME, and BELONGING. I invite viewers to closely interact with the piece and embrace their discovery of HOME without hesitation
