Wednesday, November 14, 2007

Granny Smith

Driving back from Toowoomba after visiting my nana a few years ago my sisters and I stopped in at one of the bargain fruit shops along the highway near Gatton. One of my sisters pulled this postcard out of the rack, and we all had a bit of a giggle as we scribbled a few words on the back and promptly posted it off to her. She kept it propped up on her kitchen bench for years, and when she died it found a new home on my mum's fridge. Everytime I see it, it still makes me giggle and think of her.

I’m playing around with some new work at the moment called 'short stories' (I think), about this very thing, that narrative aspect of objects, the way they can hold stories and evoke memories. Its an endlessly fascinating subject for me. It’s still in the early stages, and I’m not really sure where it’s going yet, but there are lots of spoons. Spoons and guns. Hmmmm. I’ll keep you posted!

7 comments:

reb said...

Lovely story Mel, what a nice memory to have.

Anonymous said...

Hi.
Just wanted to congratulate your recent Arts and Perception article.
I got to tell everyone that I know the famous Mel Robson.
randal

Mel Robson said...

he he. I don't know about famous Randal, but thanks! Hope all is well over in your neck of the woods! You must be freezing right about now!! xo

gerry said...

Memories,light the corners of my.......
We are in a priveleged position of producing objects that inadvertently become memory -charged. It makes it that much more challenging to invest them with more layers of meamory related meanig.Does that make sense? I'm constantly stuggling with this stuff.

Hopefully these works in progress will make teir way to the birthplace of The Reels.

Mel Robson said...

Hi Gerry, I think I understand what you are getting at. We ARE priveliged and I am very conscious of that fact, even a little guilty about it. I often feel that what I do is incredibly self-indulgent in many respects and am always agonising over the justification of what I do - from a social, environmental and economic perspective. Over the years it has been the topic of many conversations and late night debates over bottles of wine with other artists, and particularly ceramicists! But I think that if artists can shift perspectives or stimulate questions, even if in only seemingly small ways, then its worth something.

And I never knew the reels were from Dubbo! Bum Crane hails from there too....must be something in the water....

Mel Robson said...

oh, and thanks...now i have that song stuck in my head....meeeeeemorieeeeees....

gerry said...

From time to time
The waste memory-wastes
The waste memory-wastes
Further, longer, higher, older

Get that stuck in your head instead