Laura Baker

Starting with unmarked paper, Laura uses surgical cuts to explore the qualities, detail, and shape of the Australian landscape. Forms appear from the negative space as images are ‘drawn’ with the blade. A tension exists between the pull of metal through paper and the delicate strands left behind. The final pieces are as much about the paper imagery, as the emptiness and the faint shadows cast beyond the work. Through a reflective and laborious practice, fragile lace-like representations explore the lived experience of regional and rural communities, along with our greater ongoing tension with the environment. Despite this, the work remains hopeful with a sense of nostalgia, acceptance and appreciation of place.

Drawing from a personal family connection to the town, the artist has gathered a selection of letters connected to the place of Kandos. These handwritten histories have been donated by the community and collected from the Kandos Museum, before being intricately cut by hand and re-placed throughout the town. Words now wrap around trees, lines of text on the inside of a bus shelter, sentiment in ordinary places. A treasure hunt of personal stories.

The artist acknowledges the contribution of Colleen O’Sullivan and the Kandos Museum to the development of “Yours to an ash”.