Regional Spotlight Artist Profile | Avi Amesbury

The inaugural Regional Spotlight exhibition is a showcase of artistic talent from across the region. Developed from an expressions of interest process, the exhibition brings together painting, drawing, photography, and sculptural works by artists living and working in the Wide Bay-Burnett. The Regional Spotlight initiative is an opportunity for artists at any stage in their career, working in any visual art medium, to receive mentorship and share their work at the gallery. Avi Amesbury is a local artist in our upcoming Regional Spotlight exhibition opening on 21st September 2024.

How long have you been making artwork?

Initially I began exploring clay in the late eighties. However in 1999 I undertook a Bachelor of Arts Visual (Ceramics) with Honours at the Australian National University (ANU) School of Art in Canberra.  This was the beginning of a long and diverse career in the arts in Australia. While studying at the ANU I was awarded a Student Exchange Scholarship and studied for three months at the HongIk University in Seoul, Republic of Korea. This period of study influenced my making processes and can still be seen in my ceramics practice today.

What are your favourite mediums to work with and why?

My ceramics draws on found clays from various locations in the landscape. My research and testing these clays was focused on looking at their colour responses on various types of clay. I found the best colour response to achieve what I wanted in my work was porcelain, and I’ve been using porcelain ever since. All the colours seen in my work are from these found clays and the colours attained have been inspiring, from various shades of blacks to greens, pinks, white, brown and oranges. The test results are my palette and are used to create the nuances of colour depicting the Australian landscape.

Who/what inspires or influences you?

The Australian landscape is my inspiration. I have lived in and visited many different places over the years and each place has given me a different way of looking at the natural environment. Growing up on the edge of the dessert in Western Australia my childhood was filled with experiences of the landscape -hot, dry, immense summer thunder and lightning storms, a horizon that went on forever, the endless stars, freezing cold in winter. This love of nature never left me and my connection to 'place' drives my artistic practice. In Canberra it was the light, and on the Far South Coast of New South Wales it was the magnificent trees and their meeting the ocean. In the Northern Territory, Tjoritja (the MacDonnell Ranges) and the surrounding country was a landscape like no other. The visual, sensory immensity of the country and the aroused emotions for the earth was palpable – the colours, the rock formations, the eco-systems, plants, animals, the visible timeline of millions of years. My recent work Connections – land and sea, uses the vessel form to explore the meeting place between land and sea, and is inspired by the landscape on the far south coast of New South Wales, Australia.

My favourite landscape artists are Arthur Boyd and Fred Williams, who for me, have captured the spiritual essence of Australia in their work. The ceramic artist I hold in the highest regard is Janet DeBoos. Not only is she one of Australia’s best, her contribution to the field has changed the face of ceramics in Australia and raised the profile of artists internationally

Has your practice and subject matter changed over time? If so, how?

Over the past years my subject matter has been interested in the spiritual connection to land – I undertook an AiR in TelAviv in exploring Israel as an ancient land resonating with historic Holy Land of the Bible, and my own spiritual connection to the Australian landscape. I have also made work inspired by the insect collection at the CSIRO in Canberra, responding to the notion of ‘collection for research’.

Most recently my research project, The Self-Reconciliation Project, focuses on my own family history, one of the first settler families to arrive in Quairading in Western Australia, and explores issues of land dispossession, violence and racism. In 2022 I undertook a six-month research residency at the Fremantle Arts Centre exploring the notion of ‘self-reconciliation’ followed by a two-month residency in 2023 at Central Craft in Mpartwe/Alice Springs immersing myself in the landscape to gain a deeper understanding of the deep spiritual connection between ‘place’ and people.

Until now my exhibition work has been ceramic, however for The Self Reconciliation Project exhibition I’m experimenting with sound, written word, drawings, and mixed media.

What do you like most about living in the region?

The arts community- it is inclusive and open. I feel a vitality that is refreshing, expansive and inspiring.  This has been a delightful discovery. As a recent arrival to the region I’m still exploring the landscape. To me it’s very different from anywhere I have lived previously and I can’t quite identify (internally) my connection. It will, no doubt, reveal itself over time. Externally, it’s flat, it’s an urban environment (having come from the bush), the people are friendly and welcoming, and I feel part of a community.

Is there anything else you would like to add?

Over the years I have combined my art practice with arts administration.  As a country that does not value the arts, contributing to and developing appreciation for it is vital.  I am community driven and my involvement in the contemporary ceramics and craft community has been both stimulating and rewarding. In 2015 I was Chair of The Australian Ceramics Triennale, Stepping Up held in Canberra. Other positions and roles have included Artistic Director for Design Canberra (2014–15); CEO and Artistic Director for Craft ACT: Craft and Design Centre (2010–16) and board member for The Australian Ceramics Association (2021-2022).

I am a member of the International Academy of Ceramics (Geneva) and currently hold a seat on the Council as representative for the Oceania region. I am currently on the steering committee for the 49th Wide Bay Burnett Pottery Association convention hosted by the Bundaberg Pottery Group, which will be held in Moore Park Beach October this year.