EXHIBITION TEXT

Presented as one body of work, Anouska Samms’ groups together film, sculpture and weaving  to express the familial ‘myths’ we consciously or unconsciously adopt to communicate our love for others.

Using materials such as clay and hair, a matrilineal ritual across five generations of women in Samms’ family, including the artist herself, is examined. All of the humour and messiness that exists within intergenerational and maternal connection is revealed. What do we make literal and physical as a way to stay attached to family, heritage and those unknown identities within ourselves?

The relationship between hair and clay is explored in Samms’ dysfunctional containers, where pots morph into unstable vessels through this combination. Both are organic materials, endlessly malleable with a history of tradition, function and meaning. Clay, transformative matter that inherits the quality of the ground it is removed from, can create vessels from the ceremonial to the mundane, while from hair, the mitochondrial DNA within the shaft is passed from a pregnant parent to their children. How these two materials meet invites the viewer to contemplate the deep rooted generational expressions that inform the work.

Photography by Benjamin Swanson
Exhibition poster by Semiklisee and Anouska Samms