TOP ARTS: VCE 2005
Student Profiles
Ellen Taylor
Children in Detention 2005
Wonthaggi Secondary College
Interview: Ellen Taylor
Wonthaggi Secondary College – Studio Arts
When I was sixteen, a speech by Julian Burnside gave me an insight into the horrifying reality of mandatory detention in Australia. It inspired me to create a work that attempts to illustrate the impact of this inhumane system on refugee children. I created sixty-eight dolls, one to represent each child in detention in June 2005. I printed on each doll with different linocut designs, sewed, stained and stuffed them to emphasise their individuality. The surface treatment gives them a distressed appearance to reinforce the shocking treatment that the children have had to endure.
Describe the Ideas behind your work short-listed for Top Arts.
I have created a series of dolls to highlight the true and horrendous nature of mandatory detention. Each of the 68 dolls represents a child that was in mandatory detention in June 2005. Ironically their appearance is not typical of a doll, their pained expressions and weathered appearance emphasising the effect detention has on children.
What were your starting points? Where did your inspiration come from?
In 2003 I heard a speech by Julian Burnside who gave me an insight into the true nature of mandatory detention. He told us a story about a ten year old girl who, while being in mandatory detention for a number of months attempted to hang herself. This was just one of the tragically touching stories that opened my eyes, and filled in me an anger and passion that I felt had to be expressed. I was also inspired by other protest artists such as Mike Parr, Kathe Kollwitz and Kate Durham. Parr and Durham were artists that directly created protest art that reflected the situations of refugees. Durham believed that the public needed to see images of these people in order to empathise with them, so she created a series of small images which each illustrated a refugee. This was one factor that influenced the creation of each individual doll in my case. In the case of Mike Parr I was fascinated by the extreme measures and the shock tactics he employed in order to create his political works. In one work Parr sat in an empty gallery for hours with his face stitched together and the word alien branded on his leg, mirroring the acts of refugees. I thought that these shocking images were incredibly powerful and left such an imprint on your mind that I wanted to include shocking imagery in my work. This I feel is reflected in the pained and worn bodies of my dolls.
Kathe Kollwitz was a major influence to me because of her highly expressionistic and emotional style of protest art. Her dark wood cuts and drawings are highly evocative, and speak of the horrors of her times, the world wars. One of her most powerful ways of doing this was to illustrate the parting of mother and child, through death. I wanted to take her highly emotive approach and apply it to the tragedies of my own modern age, using my dolls as a universal cry to all mothers and children
What media/materials did you select and why?
I used calico and lino printing so I was able to create large numbers of dolls. I also used different threads, materials, scraps, and stained with coffee in order to individualise each doll, so they're each appreciated as single beings.
The weathered and eerie appearance of my dolls originated early in my folio as drawings. I then began to experiment by creating lino prints out of my images; I was interested to see my drawings transferred to a simpler form. Because I naturally draw in a sketchy style I didn't feel too restricted by using a cutting motion to recreate my images. It was then just a natural progression for me to delve into sculpture. I wanted my images of people to be physically real, there is something very detached and sterile about two dimensional works, they seem to be in a different world to that of the audience, and I wanted my works to be a reality, to have a physical presence in space. Only in this situation could I evoke the sympathy that I wanted.
How did new technologies influence your ideas or working methods?
When I decided that I wanted to create an artwork that required repeated, or a large amount of images I knew that printing was perhaps the most suitable option. Lino printing attracted me the most because of the physical hands on process that I needed to create each one. There is also a connection between the actions of cutting into the lino, which is a link to the act of cutting or self harm undertaken by many refugee children. I was inspired by Kathe Kollwitz (who did a lot of wood cuts) and felt that this was the best printing material for me to use.
What challenges/difficulties, if any, did you encounter in producing your work?
Because of the large numbers of dolls I wanted to create time was always a challenging factor. I had to work many long hours printing and stitching and sewing my dolls.
Were there any influences from other sources that were significant in the production of your work, e.g. literature, media, historical, or political events? How did this impact on the development of your work?
My work is specifically based on one of Australia's current political policies, indefinite mandatory detention.
I am still very interested in creating works that have a politically based agenda, concentrating especially on issues that are strongly evident in Australia, such as the treatment of Indigenous people. And of course I will continue to express my frustrations at the current system of mandatory detention, which recently has practically disappeared from the public eye.
I believe it is incredibly important for artists to use their art as a vehicle to promote political awareness. “Artists are the proverbial canaries in the coal mine, when they start singing it’s a sure sign of tough times ahead”. This is the way I see political art, and perceive its importance. Political art is a powerful way to draw attention to an issue, to act as a warning and one that is likely to attract the attention of the general public and therefore be listened to.
Also, looking just in the perspective of an artist, it is also a way to bring passion to your work. For example the only way I managed to create a work of such expanse is because I felt great passion and great anger at the current state of this particular issue, and this was a catalyst to push me. And if you make an artwork with passion it will shine clearly through and the viewers will sense this passion and be able feel for the work as you do.
Were there any ethical or moral issues or concerns evident in your work?
Yes I want my dolls to play on the public’s political conscience and whether they believe that detaining children is morally right.
Example Support Material
What resources did you access, e.g. libraries, galleries, newspapers, magazines, art programs, websites, films, events and performances?
I used a variety of sources such as articles from the Age, the 'Chilout' (children out of detention website) and information from libraries. I also attended a movie called Letters to Ali about a young refugee boy. I looked at the websites for past Top Arts exhibitions.
What exhibitions did you see in 2005? Was there a specific exhibition that influenced the development of your ideas and working methods?
James Gleeson, Colin Suggurt, McCLelland Sculpture Award, Bill Henson, and Top Arts.
Did you see Top Arts 2004? If so, what was your response?
Yes the quality of the work was very high. Although I was surprised at the lack of sculpture works on display, they seemed to be overwhelmingly 2D works.
Did you consider presentation and conservation issues in the process and production of your work?
I considered very carefully the presentation of my dolls. I wanted my dolls clustered together, against a wall, as if cowering out of fear. I also wanted them closely packed together emphasising their numbers and poor conditions lived in.
What advice would you give to students undertaking Art or Studio Arts?
You should always be aware of timeframes. Even though there may seem to be plenty of class time to finish your works, realistically it is a strain near the end to complete it all.
What were the highlights of your studies in 2005?
Finishing my 68 dolls.
Are you planning to pursue a career in the arts?
Yes, hopefully after finishing an art course at university I will be able to become a practicing artist.
What are you doing in 2006?
This year I am doing a Bachelor of Fine Arts, Sculpture at the Victorian College of the Arts.
