Image above: Simon Normand Map – Australia 2023 acrylic on canvas and mixed media 145 x 170 cm
Simon Normand’s thought-provoking exhibition, Teaspoon Colony has been reviewed by Stephen Brook for The Age, and Paul de Vries for Nikkei Asia
The artist was also interviewed on ABC Radio by presenter Alice Zaslavsky.
To listen to Simon’s fascinating interview, visit ABC listen: Sculptor Simon Normand on his new exhibition Teaspoon Colony – ABC listen
Simon Normand, Australian Galleries Melbourne. Photography: Simon Schulter for The Age
“Teaspoon Colony uses 24 giant mosaic and steel forged teaspoons examines our colonial settlements and their disturbing histories. It all started when he found one depicting a bulldozer tearing through forest at Cann River. That sent Simon on a journey to find the darker truths behind the glitzy depictions on the tops of teaspoons, which very rarely acknowledged First Nations history of the places they represented.” – Stephen Brooks, The Age.
To read the full article in The Age online click here
Image above: Simon Normand’s teaspoon collection, featured in Nikkei Asia, courtesy of the artist
“Little things can speak with a voice that is disproportionately loud. Take the example of the Australian souvenir teaspoon. In the 1950s and 1960s, decorative teaspoons including images of the locations where they were bought were ubiquitous souvenirs. These teaspoons comprise a time capsule of an era gone by. What do they say? I had never really thought about it until I came across the teaspoon collection of Melbourne-based artist Simon Normand…
As his teaspoon collection grew, Normand began to examine the often-gaping void between the images portrayed and the historical reality as it applied to First Nations Australians.” – Paul de Vries for Nikkei Asia.
To read the full article in Nikkei Asia click here