''SITE 15'' is a chance to celebrate the work and accomplishments of Dunedin School of Art students. Rebecca Fox talks to two artists whose works' features could not be more different.
Four hundred discarded appliances and a year's worth of clothes drier and vacuum cleaner lint have gone into two of Shelley McConaughy's works of art.
Yes you read right: lint. The stuff you pick out of the bottom of your clothes drier or that ends up in your vacuum cleaner bag.
With the help of a dental pick, Mrs McConaughy stuffed piles of the lint into moulds she made to create a three-tiered wedding cake.
The cake, complete with flowers, looks like something out of a horror show.
On the other hand, another of her works resembles something from outer space, until you get closer and realise the objects making the globe are appliances: discarded toasters, jugs, sandwich presses and vacuum-cleaner hoses.
Inspiration for the works came from other artists she was researching and her own experience as a full-time mother to two boys for 10 years.
''Domesticity has been my world for 10 years, so it was tangible experience to draw from.''
She aimed to work out what it was to be at home in New Zealand and other Western countries.
The ball of domestic appliances is a comment on the contribution domestic appliances make to the state of the environment as well: how appliances are made to break down and need replacing in an effort to bolster the economy.
''While I'm interested in domesticity at a grass-roots level, I'm also interested in the broader effect on the individual and communities.''
It surprised her how easy it was to source the discarded appliances, taking her only seven months. That ease of acquisition caused her disquiet, as she realised just how many old appliances must go into landfill.
The lint wedding cake came about as a commentary on what was under the surface of society.
''The work could be perceived as cynical but I'm married and our lives revolve around home, cooking and cleaning.''
The dirt is something not seen, as people present their homes well.
''Home life for women revolves around dirt.''
Despite having finished her wedding cake, she is still collecting lint as she has discovered it is a ''wonderful'' art material to work with.
All of her works required her to learn new skills.
For the ball, she had to learn to weld.
There were at least 70 pieces of steel welded together to hold the appliances; for the cake it required fiddly moulding skills and for her last work - a deflated balloon - fibreglass skills were needed.
''I've got man-hands now. I like the play on that too, the blurring of boundaries is a good thing.''
As all the pieces are displayed on concrete plinths, she also had to learn to concrete.
Displaying them this way is a comment on how historically artworks have been put on plinths to elevate their significance.
''This is about bringing domesticity into high art as well.''
The balloon signified the expansion and contraction of a woman's body before and after childbirth, she said.
Artist Mary Kelly in the 1960s did a lot of work pushing against the system and women's place in it and that domesticity had been left out of the art world and not valued.
''It was a push against that. I think there is still room for discussion about it and the sexual division of labour.''
Her works all begin with an idea, often one of many drawn up after she has done a lot of reading.
''Out of 20 bad ideas I might follow one through. I can come up with some kooky ideas.''
There is usually a thread that follows throughout and as the process develops she adds to it.
''It keeps evolving.''
She says she will never leave art behind, especially now she has found her medium.
When the family decided to move back to Dunedin for the children's education, Mrs McConaughy began to think it was time to relook at her career.
While she has continued to paint and be creative during her time as a mother, it was secondary to looking after the family.
She visited the Otago Polytechnic Dunedin School of Art with the thought of taking up a night class but it was suggested she join the bachelor of visual arts degree programme.
''It was huge. Overwhelming. After being out of the workforce for so long it was daunting initially but it has been an absolutely incredible experience.''
The school had opened her eyes in many ways to the art world, she said.
''It's like seeing behind the scenes at the theatre. The theory is invaluable.''
Painting was her main focus until she did her first rotation in the sculpture department.
''While I came to the school as a painter, I was never satisfied. I was a frustrated painter.''
Her first experience in the sculpture department changed that.
''It just clicked. I was brought up with a dad who was very clever and always had tools around, so I'd used tools and was interested in them but never thought of sculpture as an option.''
But that first rotation changed everything.
''I knew in that first week and I've never looked back.''
