Jill Chism, Artist

Jill Chism: Artist
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The Inner Curtain

Cairns Regional Gallery in 1999, also reconfigured at Umbrella Studio, Townsville, and Gladstone and Toowoomba Regional Galleries up to 2002.
Fired paper clay, resin, clothing, mirror, and decoupage clay tiles. Clay circles vary from 1.5 metres in diameter to 50cm in diameter by 10 metres overall.

The idea for this work was derived from the ancient Jewish temple, where the inner curtain divided ordinary people from the Holy of Holies. Here I create an analogy between the inner curtain and the outer layer of our skin/ our gender, clothing, biographical experiences, career, as the things we use to define our self.

The suggestion of the work is that we will find the Holy of Holies by going inside rather than looking to the outside.

The predominant form of the work, the clay circles was based on the Buddhist chant Form is no other than emptiness, emptiness no other than form.
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  • The Inner Curtain 1999 Cairns Regional Gallery, paper clay and slip. 1.5m diameter - 600mm diam, pieces<br /><br />Draws attention to the forces of gravity and space as emptiness. Inspiration for this work was the Buddhist chant 'form is no other than emptiness, emptiness is no other than form'.<br /><br />Fired and unfired paper-clay resin and clay slip, incorporates fired clay tiles with photographic transfer techniques, fabric pods stuffed with used clothes, a pile of used clothes and a black mirror.<br /><br />The image reveals eroded and cut-out text from multiple religious sources. The exhibition toured to Umbrella Studio in Townsville and Galdstone and Toowoomba Galleries. width:800;;height:458
  • Installing the work at Cairns Regional Gallery width:494;;height:337
  • Close up width:800;;height:573
  • 1999, Cairns Regional Gallery, paper clay with transferred images. 180mm x 220mm ea. Showing detail of clay tiles with photographic transfer technique.<br /><br />These pieces explore 'who we are' as we peel back the layers of conditioning. width:800;;height:404
  • Detail showing text width:800;;height:567
  • Installed as a public artwork width:791;;height:560
  • Installed at Umbrella Studio in Townsville width:554;;height:800
  • width:763;;height:575
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