Arrernte artist Alfred Lowe joins Vanessa Morris on Banksia to talk about their ceramics works and the opening of the new APY Arts Collective gallery space in Docklands, which they described an performance at the opening as beautiful.

“It was so moving to be in that room.. along with Electric Fields, we also had many of the artists performing [..] and to see language from central Australia performed in this space in Melbourne and also to go alongside the opening of the gallery, was just such a beautiful experience…”

The new space in Melbourne is one of the three galleries that provides access to work from artists of the APY Arts Collective that are created through several art centres across the APY lands which span parts of South Australia, Northern Territory and Western Australia.

In discussing their ceramics works, Alfred describes them as “sort of semi-sculptural - they’re kind of almost vessels, but not really. I sort of purposely make them so they can’t hold water..”

“The style really comes from not a direct reflection of country, but a reflection of my experience with country and often when we talk about the land and landscapes, we remove people from that story and I [..] want to talk about myself in relation to that story and people in general in relation to that story..”

“As well as the forms and the shapes that I make, came from my experience as a person, and body image and self-love and self-hate and all of those things, how they reflect in identity”

You can visit the APY Gallery space at Tom Thumb Lane in Docklands. View work from the Melbourne space here.

Alfred will also have works on dislay as part of the Clay on Country exhibition as part of the Ceramics Triennale on Arrernte Country from 19-23 July 2022.

Listen to the full interview below.

Image: Alfred Lowe, 2022, copyright the artist courtesy APY Art Centre Collective