Shannon Garson

Shannon Garson’s work articulates landscape using domestic pots as vessels for drawing about the strange beauty and wonder to be found in the marginalized eco-systems of the littoral zone. Details of shorelines, rock pools and coastal wallum scrub are revealed in the sgraffito and oxide drawings that crawl over the surface of these delicately thrown porcelain vessels. The act of beach-combing, gleaning and collecting is analogous to the process used in making these works. Her work is inspired by ‘marginal eco systems of tidal zones and endangered paper bark habitats and the rare flora and fauna they contain.’ Juxtaposing classic, clean porcelain vessels with the infinite variety of striations, spots and marks found in nature, Garson’s exceptional pieces tell a story of wallum swampland, of tidal zones, and of endangered wildlife. Descriptions of bird-footprints and tiny flowers completely covered in white hairs encompass the vessels; the myriad detail of the landscape has been collected into marks. A visual language mapping the experience of being in the landscape, creating a dialogue between domestic life and nature. Mediums matter to artists and how they navigate them provides the compass to their creativity. For Shannon Garson, porcelain is the perfect surface for intricate drawings. The delicacy of her line, coupled with the elegant arcs of each piece, was made to deliberately invite touch and a closer more contemplative gaze.