To pillage or protect, 2023

Duck Eggs, Shellac, Gold PigmentPowder, Wood, 0.6 × 1.8 × 1.2m, Moores Building, Walyalup Fremantle, Western Australia

Eggs symbolise the potential for life and the fragility of that potential. A fertilised egg and the developing embryo are the perfect ecosystem, where all that is required is warmth and oxygen for the embryo to get to the stage that it can function on its own. As it fights it way out of the protection of the shell, it takes its first lungfulls of air and is bombarded with a new environment which is both physically and mentally generative and destructive. It is a similar process for all newborn beings ready to be imprinted with environment and experience.

Gelmi attributes innocence, trust, playfulness, wonder and creativity to children. These virtues are often used against them through manipulation, physical, mental and social experiences, often repeatedly, normalising both the negative and positive encounters. Lessons from such assaults are assimilated into a child’s understanding of what is expected to function within their culture and society and may set-back and degrade these highly valued virtues.

Gelmi encourages the viewer to examine their own experiences and biases and reflect on the complex issues of power, exploitation, and resilience in our society.

Have these eggs been broken from the inside or the outside?