Janet Fieldhouse

When I was thinking about this work, it would be, the way that, how the, how it was made traditionally and then reinterpreted different to how that object is. I find that is interesting in itself because, bringing from all the things that I've seen, I went really basic. And usually in the works that I do, it is, usually weaving. So I didn't do any of that. So it's really basic.

So it was flowers, birds and bones. And then, the metal is the only thing that it was added. And the modern is the, chain. And there's only, copper on two works and a pearl on one of hair pins that is a bone. They are the only ones that are more contemporary, but still has that feel of old.

Firstly, I was looking for, Indigenous Torres Strait artefacts. And, youse do have some. And I noticed that most of them were covered up, so I decided not to go and uncover it because I don't know what it is. So, it's one of those things that, I gather they would say taboo. You don't really look at it, if you don't know what it is.

So, that's the reason why I was looking at everything else. Because you gave us free range to see. And so I looked at, well I wanted to look at Chinese, but you didn't have much. And I was looking at hairpins from that era. And then you said you had, Egyptian hair pins. So I got into looking that and just didn't see how big they were, and they were all tiny.  

There was one with the gold on it that was pretty, but, I wasn't sure if it was bone or wood,

And then what else? Hair combs. That was interesting because, Egyptian had hair combs, exactly like, head lice combs that we have now, but in plastic, that was cool. And, then, like, on another day we looked at birds, so, the other collection of the Torres Strait. So, the area was stuffed birds, bones, ah, things that were in jars. So that was interesting because, I think I was the only one that actually went and had a look at those areas. So I stuck with birds and bones.

The process in itself was interesting because when you're working on something already and then you had to make something else for some other exhibition, and then you would have to start looking at designing, because when I was down here, I had so many things that were happening in my head saying, yes, I can make it like this - go bigger.

And then I realized that I don't have time. So, that's why all the little ones that, well, that's why the work's so small. So its just in the time factor. That's the reason why they're all smaller than normal.