Poetry of a Drought
Print
1997 (made)
1997 (made)
| Artist/Maker | |
| Place of origin |
Christine Grishin is an Australian artist who took the nom de plume Grand Wam Bot (Wombat) in accordance with Aboriginal belief in an individual’s totemic relationship to a particular plant or animal. Though she is not Aboriginal herself, her work manifests a deep affinity with the Australian landscape and natural world.
This print is one of series inspired also by the tapestries in the Musée de Cluny, Paris, in which a unicorn, symbolising Christ, is loved and protected by a lady in a beautiful garden but is also victim and sacrifice. Bot knits this myth with her own experience of maternity and loss and the Australian landscape.
The overall image is of a maternal figure, criss-crossed with patterns suggesting fine needlework, but also the mark-making of Aboriginal artists. Sometimes these patterns suggest fields, cracked and dried, with the occasional leafless tree or shrub. The figure is at once part of the landscape, a kind of monument within it, and separate, standing outside it.
This print is one of series inspired also by the tapestries in the Musée de Cluny, Paris, in which a unicorn, symbolising Christ, is loved and protected by a lady in a beautiful garden but is also victim and sacrifice. Bot knits this myth with her own experience of maternity and loss and the Australian landscape.
The overall image is of a maternal figure, criss-crossed with patterns suggesting fine needlework, but also the mark-making of Aboriginal artists. Sometimes these patterns suggest fields, cracked and dried, with the occasional leafless tree or shrub. The figure is at once part of the landscape, a kind of monument within it, and separate, standing outside it.
Object details
| Categories | |
| Object type | |
| Title | Poetry of a Drought (assigned by artist) |
| Materials and techniques | Linocut on chine collé using an overlay of mulberry paper |
| Brief description | G.W.Bot (Christine Grishin): Linocut print on chine collé entitled 'Poetry of a Drought'. Australia, 1997. |
| Physical description | The outline of a maternal gown almost completely fills the picture space, straight sided and unbelted, with rounded shoulders and long sleeves. It is criss crossed and surrounded with patterns which suggest both minute and delicate stitching but also field patterns occasionally broken into by a variation recalling a tree, shrub or animal. The overall colouring is yellowish with monochrome patterning |
| Dimensions |
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| Production type | Limited edition |
| Copy number | 1/25 |
| Marks and inscriptions | Signed and dated in pencil G.W.Bot and numbered 1/25 |
| Credit line | Given by the artist and the Hart Gallery, London |
| Subjects depicted | |
| Summary | Christine Grishin is an Australian artist who took the nom de plume Grand Wam Bot (Wombat) in accordance with Aboriginal belief in an individual’s totemic relationship to a particular plant or animal. Though she is not Aboriginal herself, her work manifests a deep affinity with the Australian landscape and natural world. This print is one of series inspired also by the tapestries in the Musée de Cluny, Paris, in which a unicorn, symbolising Christ, is loved and protected by a lady in a beautiful garden but is also victim and sacrifice. Bot knits this myth with her own experience of maternity and loss and the Australian landscape. The overall image is of a maternal figure, criss-crossed with patterns suggesting fine needlework, but also the mark-making of Aboriginal artists. Sometimes these patterns suggest fields, cracked and dried, with the occasional leafless tree or shrub. The figure is at once part of the landscape, a kind of monument within it, and separate, standing outside it. |
| Collection | |
| Accession number | E.2318-1997 |
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| Record created | September 30, 2005 |
| Record URL |
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