Collection: Threads and Traces Exhibition

Threads and Traces considers place, stories and memory. 

I orient myself with the form of a place, the tracks, the contours, interventions and possession, through maps. I wayfind, create paths, shortcuts, connections and build my knowing of the place. I leave traces where I walk, threads of the stories I weave.  

What I see in the streets I walk is not the full story of a place.  We each tell our own story.  Not all our stories make it onto the map. 

What of the other stories? Stories of women, children. The stories of our first inhabitants. What of the stories of the forests that existed, the flora and fauna. The losses and the celebrations, the personal journeys. The precious places. What traces remain of these stories? What threads can we follow to understand more? 

Threads and Traces takes us on a journey through a place we know, on Ngunnawal and Ngambri Country, through the suburbs of Canberra.  It explores this through the deep time materiality of wild clay. Going beneath the surface on a sensory engagement with place I seek out the threads of stories held in this ancient material. 

About Lea Durie

Lea Durie, an artist based in Braidwood, NSW, considers the interplay between post-colonial land use, climate change and our connections to place in her work. Lea investigates these ideas through sculpture, vessels, mark making and installation artwork with ceramics as the primary medium.  

Lea has been the recipient of a number of awards including the Belconnen Arts Centre Emerging Artist award at the ANU School of Art and Design Graduating show in 2023, leading to this exhibition.  

Lea will complete her Masters of Contemporary Art Practices at the ANU School of Art and Design in mid 2024. 

Instagram: @lea_durie

Website: www.leadurieceramics.com