Interview
Claire Davenhall
Claire Davenhall is an International Artist who graduated from Gray’s School of Art in Aberdeen with a BA (Hons) in Fine Art Sculpture, North Karelia Polytechnic in Finland & Athens School of Fine Art in 2000.
In 2004, Claire studied a PGCE in Art Education and became a Lecturer in Fine Art where she was proudly awarded the Governor’s Award for Excellence in Teaching & Learning and was nominated for two National Beacon Awards in Art & Design.
She migrated to Western Australia at the end of 2007, where she has focused on exhibiting in beautiful locations such as Sculpture by the Sea in Cottesloe, Swell Sculpture Festival in Queensland, Castaways in Rockingham & Brighton Jetty Classic Sculptures in South Australia.
Claire’s current touring exhibition ‘Lost Soles’, explores the multi-cultural migration of people to Australia through her sculptural work. She makes social comments from the pressures placed on the early settlers to the journey of the migrants, refugees, and convicts, traveling across the sea in their search to reach a land of hope & dreams. Her work invites the viewer to take a closer look and brings together a sense of people & place through her art. She continues to work in both Art & Education as Facilitator, Lecturer & Creative Practitioner.
What is your background and how did you start your journey in the art world?
“Originally born in London, I graduated from the oldest established Fine Art Institution in Scotland, Gray's School of Art in Aberdeen with BA (Hons) in Fine Art Sculpture, I've studied at Athens School of Fine Art and North Karelia Polytechnic in Finland. My professional journey as a visual artist started back in 2000, working on digital art commissions for Aberdeen City Council, documenting the regeneration of Belmont Street. I fell in love with its history and the forgotten people of its past.
I went on to study for a Post Graduate Certificate in Education at Lancaster University and became a Lecturer in Fine Art, and was proudly awarded the ‘Governors Award for Excellence in Teaching & Learning’ and nominated for two National Beacon Awards in Art & Design. Migrating to Western Australia at the end of 2007, I have focused on exhibiting in beautiful locations such as Sculpture by the Sea in Cottesloe, Swell Sculpture Festival in Queensland, Castaways in Rockingham, and Brighton Jetty Sculptures in South Australia. I was awarded Winner of the Shinju Matsuri ‘A View to Asia’ in Broome 2016 and Major Prize Winner of the Drift Installation Awards 2017.
In 2018, I exhibited in Sculpture at Scenic World in NSW along with 39 world class artists and received a Creative Development Grant from the Department of Culture & the Arts in WA. I won the International Guest Panellist’s Choice Award, at the prestigious Walker Gallery in the UK, where my art events from Western Australia were recognized by The BIG DRAW as having innovation and excellence in drawing practice worldwide. Recently, I received an Honorable Mention Award, for participation and distinction with my sculpture Lost Soles at Sea, in the international CFA Artist of the Year Awards in 2019.”
What inspires you most?
“History and storytelling is what inspire me the most. There is nothing better than going to a remote place and finding remnants of its history left behind. The forgotten treasures of objects left by people and then unraveling the stories contained the fragments of its materials, whether it be an old leather shoe, a piece of fishing rope, or a rusty old tool.”
What themes do you pursue? Is there an underlying message in your work?
“I explore the migration of people to Australia, to timelessly capture the diverse lost souls which reflect upon the history and heritage that our culture is built on. Through the use of sculpture and installation art, I share their extraordinary stories that bring them into existence, from the 'Lost Soles at Sea' that observes the inhuman amounts of people who have boarded boats in search for a better life, their lost souls, drift in a sea of knowledge in a vessel of hope.
My work makes social commentary from the pressures placed on the early settlers and the constraints they endured, to the journey of the migrant’s refugees and convicts, travelling across the sea, in their search to reach a land of hope and dreams. From the strength of family connections that bond and tie us together through the journey of life.”
How would you describe your work?
“My work is thought provoking, intriguing and dares to challenge your own lost soul and the story it yet has to tell. I take my inspiration from poems, found objects, places I have been and things I have seen. It’s unsettling yet beautiful at the same time.”
“‘Lost Soles Beyond the Sea’ explores the early migration of people to Australia, taking inspiration from found objects to reveal the hidden stories and provide historical identity to the lost souls, condemned to transportation and sentenced the land beyond the seas.”
Which artists influence you most?
“I like the work of Bill Viola and how he focuses on the ideas behind fundamental human experiences such as birth, death and aspects of consciousness. He has imaginative ways in which he engages the viewer on multiple levels, you almost become part of his work. He creates installations in places with a special emphasis on site-specific, to create a quiet reverence to his work - they are a place of contemplation. I aim to engage the viewer in a similar way with sound, which aims to slow down their heart rate and breathing to create a body rhythm entrapment experience, using the sound of the ocean waves, signifying the many waves of migrants travelling across the seas.”
What is your creative process like?
“I make use of found objects, or rather these objects find me, for example, a pair of used boots, when their primary function no longer exists as a worn item. Other objects are then intuitively added, mostly mechanical parts such as gauges or dials as a measure of emotion, state, or situation. These items are held together with resin mixed with a special kind of pigment that gives the work ‘a little glimmer of hope’, as the light hits the surface. Often the work changes color as you walk around.”
“To the soulless boot, hooked up like a prize catch, which hangs on a piece of timber from Fremantle’s old Jetty ‘Hook, Line and Sinker’. If you dare to ‘Take a walk in my shoes before you judge me’ read the temperature gauge first, as they come from a place reaching boiling point!”
What is an artist’s role in society and how do you see that evolving?
“The role of the artist is to make sense of the world around them and hold elements of it into sharp focus. To reveal the forgotten, the lost and the overlooked. Providing an alternative viewpoint, in which we can learn about our cultural history, feel curious, wonder, pose questions, and search for answers. It’s a reflective practice, taking you to a place of uncertainty almost all of the time. There is a special kind of creative bravery that artists must have to reach into the depths of the unknown and hover there, not quite knowing what will happen next.”
Have you had any noteworthy exhibitions you'd like to share?
“My current solo-touring exhibition ‘Lost Soles Beyond the Sea’ explores the early migration of people to Australia, taking inspiration from found objects to reveal the hidden stories and provide historical identity to the lost souls, condemned to transportation and sentenced the land beyond the seas. This work invites the viewer to take a closer look and to bring together a sense of people and place through art.
Currently, I'm exhibiting at iOTA21 Converging Currents at Wanneroo Art Gallery with an installation called ‘Beyond the Sea’, that captures the voices of early migrants through handwritten messages from people as they embark on the transportation ships and begin their sea-bound migration across the Indian Ocean. Leaden hearts or love tokens were given as a final act of remembrance, originally written on copper low demoniacal coins, sanded smooth and hand-engraved they reveal heartfelt sentimental messages. These messages float above the gallery space as prayer flags, their words whisper in the wind, “When this you see, remember me”, and bound together in a vessel of hope. In March 2022 I will be displaying a full body of work in a retrospective exhibition at Edith Cowan University’s premier exhibition space Gallery 25.”
