Belinda Piggott
All That Twinkles
Linden Projects Space
1 June > 2 July 2023
Our place in the cosmos connects everything across time and space, transcending boundaries of human culture and history. Indigenous
tradition has long honoured this, the interconnectedness of all things. Today, science concurs - we were all formed from
stardust.
The night sky reveals our place. Within it we observe vast expanses of inky depth punctuated by shimmering celestial bodies, the passage of
galaxies, the momentary drama of shooting stars and spectacle of luminous comet tails. Spend enough time gazing above and patterns emerge,
mapping imaginary lines between distant coordinates, and deep dark voids, myths woven through the ages, cryptic narratives, the markers of
fortune-telling and navigation.
+ Plan Your Visit
Please note > Linden Projects Space is not wheelchair accessible. We apologise for any inconvenience.
All IMAGES > Belinda Piggott, All That Twinkles, 2023.
Image courtesy of the artist.
These ancient patterns are evolving, with the creation of artificial stars; space stations, satellites and mega-constellations tracking
across the sky. These new patterns tell the story of exchange between human innovation and the universe, of novel technologies,
critical infrastructure for our world, an attempt to reach out and touch the heavens. Through space we are channelling our
communication, entertainment, financial transactions, delivering weather forecasts, monitoring climate change, surveying national
defence and enabling commerce. Distant planets offer an unbridled abundance of minerals, ready to be quarried and traded. Space
tells the story of an untold future of wealth and power, of nations and commercial enterprises sparring for their share.
All That Twinkles contemplates the shift in the power
of the universe, from the spiritual to the economic. Against a soundtrack of NASA recordings made in space and mixed by Paul Salty Brincat,
constellations frame objects such as precious gems, symbols of natural beauty and fertile potential. Constructed from ceramic
and steel, the sculptures harness the same materials that are available to be mined in the galaxy; iron, nickel, cobalt and gold. Others
carry the remnants of exploration and mining operations that will circulate, collide, and create new, amorphous objects, replicating the
cosmic forces that formed the universe. Lines connect and intersect, charting the passage for new stories.
Born in Naarm/Melbourne, Belinda Piggott is an artist living and working on the unceded land of the Gadigal and Wangal people of the Eora Nation, Sydney. With initial training in ceramics, she practices primarily with sculpture and installation. Belinda’s ongoing body of work often references the urban landscape, waterways and the sky. She views her art practice as a portal to explore new ideas through research, experimentation, and collaboration. Deliberately deconstructing works once resolved, Belinda’s creative process involves perpetually recomposing her objects in different contexts and configurations, a cycle of reincarnation that draws upon the potential of infinite possibility.
Belinda’s first solo exhibition in Melbourne was Constructed Forest, at Laneway Art Space, St Kilda 2018. Her project Stilled, first exhibited at Woollahra Gallery in 2022, marked the beginning of Belinda’s ongoing exploration of space mining. Belinda has also shown in and numerous group shows. She has been a finalist in many art prizes including Northern Beaches Environmental Art Prize (winning the Sculpture Award with collaborator Helen Earl), Deakin, Gosford, Silicious, Georges River, Little Things and North Sydney Art Prizes. An interest in the social processes of art making informed collaborative bodies of work Conversations, Sea Worriers and Message in a Bottle.
IMAGE > Portrait of Belinda Piggott, 2023. Image courtesy of the artist.