Qualities of Community: Service, Hospitality and Joy
Timber, metal, plough discs, fine-fluted galvanised iron, various objects, family photographs.
First shown in Tregoweth, Hutchinson, Stacey at Newland Gallery, Country Arts South Australia, Adelaide, South Australia, 1998. Collection: the artist
This work illustrates qualities that the artist considers central to living in a community as observed from her many years living in her country town, namely, service, hospitality and joy.
The three boxes are modelled on the improvised road-side delivery boxes seen around the district in which mail, bread and other essentials are delivered.
The first contains objects and photos associated with her father’s army service, community service and his practice of always carrying tools in his car in case he meets someone who needs help. The second celebrates country hospitality, while the third reflects on joy experienced through birth, the nurture of children and pet lambs, family holidays and getting to know people of other cultures who have come to the very mono-cultural community.