Gabby Malpas P72 Catalogue

8/10/2019 Gabby Malpas P72 Catalogue

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Gabby MalpasWhere are you from?

catalogue (in her own words)

9-26 October 2014

Central Park 28 Broadway, Chippendale



When did you find out yourwere adopted? (you’re shittin’me – right?) Watercolour, ink, gouache andcollage on canvas

$6950 110 x 140cm ________________________

It was so obvious that myself andmy sister were different growing upthat it was almost insulting when

well-meaning friends would ask:‘when did you find out you wereadopted?’

I want to convey the silliness of thatquestion but also the love behind what made me how I am today.

The grand chinoiserie arrangement

is my chaotic but full and lavish life– I certainly haven’t suffered!

But look closely – and there is aCaucasian mother with a dark baby;;; what the??!!



Cirebon Pond 2 watercolour and collage on Arches paperFramed size: 68cm x 124cm$3700 __________________________

The first SE Asian country I ever visited was Indonesia in 1988. I must confess it was a major culture shock but it didspark an enduring fascination with theregion.

I took away these memories: the gentlesounds of gamelan, inky black nightskies, impossibly beautiful plants suchas lotus, magical batik and Chinoiseriepatterns. The bottom border of NZ korumotifs works in with the Chinese cloud background of the water. 7 fish

symbolise 'togetherness'



Special fried rice and lemonchicken

Watercolour, collage and pencil on

sewn Arches paper

Framed size: 92cm x 124cm$4200 ________________________

Having being to China many yearsago, I can honestly say I did not seethe suburban favourites offered byany restaurants there... similarly,Chinoiserie is a European notion,catering to fashion and style tastes.

Nearly all of the living things in thisimage can be found in Australia orNZ: there is the NZ red admiral

butterfly, the wax eye and blue fairy wren of Australia - the other plantsand butterflies we are familiar withand thrive here - but they are notfrom this land.



More chinoiserie - orange andduck egg blue… watercolour and pencil on ArchespaperFramed size: 77cm x 96cm

$2500

________________________

An unashamed celebration ofchinoiserie, Malpas style.Camelias from Ian's tree, St Ives.

Loquat branch 'appropriated' fromSt Peters.Blue and white bowl from Vinnies.Dragon teapot from Salvos andartistic licence. Teacup from eBay.Ginger jar from UK country fete.Indonesian sarong backdrop



Pasifica watercolour, ink and gouache oncanvas.Size: 60.5cm x 71.5cm

$2700 ________________________

I didn't realise how unique the lightis downunder until I startedtravelling. As I spent more andmore time in the UK, the odd tripshome were like a flash of colour andlight - even a winter's day could be brighter than a Uk summer.



Indochine

watercolour, gouache and pencil ona leaf of a French land saleagreement document dated 1849.

Antique Australian koala stamp

Framed size 35.5cm x 43.5 cm$600 ________________________

I first went to Vietnam and Laos in2000 - I had a very hard time in Vietnam: the locals weren't used to

solo Asian travellers at the time andassumed I was a streetwalker so Igot hissed at a lot and abused formy lack of Vietnamese. Otherpeople were very kind and justcurious.

Anyway, it is a beautiful place andthe French influence is everywhere:the food is delicate and you can getgood coffee and bread, the womenare impossibly elegant and theyhave wide, sweeping boulevards.

This image echoes those Indian andPersian miniatures painted on oldmanuscript pages.



Magnolias from Rozelle, Sydneytiger moth: google images. French

legal document from eBay.More Chinoiserie on copper-plate writing themed work

Magnolias in the night garden

watercolour and pencil on anantique French legal document leaf

Framed size: 35.5cm x 43.5cm$600

__________________________



Marmalade Watercolour and gouache on paper.

Framed size: 30cm x 40cm

$540 __________________________

Dad being British, was quite partialto marmalade. I never understoodit - sweet and orange but bitter.... waaaaa?

This is a leaf from a Frenchdocument. It was dated: 19-08-1782 and was titled: 'Partage cldivision'. My schoolgirl french istoo rusty to provide a propertranslation but it was a legaldocument - I think about property.

There is an antique NZ stamp witha kiwi in the top left hand cornerand on the sides, I have patched binding tears with a differentantique document



Mum watercolour, collage and pencil onpaperFramed size: 42cm x 50cm

$710

Begonias and geraniums from Alexandria, Sydney. Ginger jars fromUK country fete. Teacup and saucerfrom the Balgowlah antiques centre.Malay sarong backdrop.Old NZ postage stamp: eBay.

Mum's favourite colour was blue andalthough we didn't have any ginger

jars in the house while I was growingup, Mum did have some willow

pattern plates she used for 'best'. Theplants are the types that cuttings would have been collected/distributed by Mum and her circle of friendsduring visiting eachother's houses forafternoon tea sessions.I have included a fragment of one ofher last letters to me. Mum was verygood at correspondence and I got intothe habit of writing regularly while I

was away at college in the 80s andthen wrote to mum until her death in2011. This piece tickled me and isquite an indicator of how Mum's mind

worked but also an insight into herpracticality: sentimental and lovingone second then brought down toearth the next.



Dad watercolour, pencil and gouache on vellum, Will document of Esther Gibson(Widow, of Cumberland, England),dated 1800sFramed size: 57cm x 46cm $790

___________________________

My father came from Leicester, England.He did not have the secure, stable homethat I took for granted. He went to sea as (asuspected underage), cabin boy as a young

teenager and was in the British MerchantNavy in WWII. His ships took him right

around the Pacific Rim during the war andI often think that to a young man from working class England at that time,travelling in the Pacific would have beenalmost akin to explorers a few hundred

years before him - the completely foreignsights he would have seen! He still wore hisnavy issue sandals for many years

afterwards and quite often he would put aknotted handkerchief on his head at the beach to 'stir' us.

This is a gentle take on Dad - the juxtaposition of the exotic and foreign withthe very old and traditional, Englishdocument - the last will and testament.



Family Mart(same same but different) watercolour and pencil on IndianKhadi paper


There is a chain of conveniencestores in Tokyo called family mart...I have represented my family as

maneki neko cats- drawingattention to the obvious differences.The text are good luck slogans frommaneki neko and the pattern belowis from traditional Japanese fandesigns.

The Daruma doll is one I have onmy mantlepiece - when you get a

daruma doll, you colour in one ofthe eyes and make a resolution orplan - then, when your plan comesto fruition, you colour in the othereye then burn the doll.



The Mariner’s taleBalinese Barong mask,Nonya/Peranakan ceramic motifs,NZ Koru motifs. Lombok Sasak weaving background. Found

objects: shells, coins, stamps andcurrency from travels and eBay.Framed size: 50cm x 61 cm$800

The very first port of call on mygrand OE in 1988 was Bali. And

yes, Poppies lane, Kuta was thefirst stop. Even amongst thetourist ghettos, street hawkersand all night bars that was Kutaeven then, I found Bali to be amagical, mystical place. Wetravelled to Malaysia fromSumatra by ferry where I

discovered the wealth of Chineseinfluences and of course wasdrawn to the beautifulPeranakan or Nonya wareceramics. And yes, everyonethought I was a local



Don't mess with theMissionary man watercolour, collage, pencil andgouache on Arches paperFramed size: 57cm x 80cm$1950

‘Dyak mask (Borneo), PNG tapa cloth design andlemboglossum orchid: google images. Sasak

weaving, cowrie shells and carved bone face:Lombok. Old stamps, Chinese coupon, frenchantique document fragments and mother of pearl

buttons: eBay. Tatted silk cross: from the artist'smother

Masks have been made for millennia by a myriad of

cultures. They often have powerful meanings andthe wearing of them are dictated by that society'srules and/or ceremonial demands. Christianity has

been extremely widespread in SE Asia throughmissionaries and migration and some of the oldanimist beliefs are dying out. Who is to say whichgod is better?

I have been fascinated by SE Asian tribal culture for years. I think a remote interest was sparked aged 4, when my oldest sister took me to the Aucklandmuseum and I entered a traditional Maori meetinghouse for the first time. I have perceivedsimilarities amongst various tribes and cultures:ancestor worship and reverence, the use of masks

in rites and ceremonies, special objects and sacred

amulets.



Delicacy watercolour, pencil and gouache on sewnIndian Khadi paperFramed size: 50cm x 62cm

$750 ____________________________

Japonicas and butterflies fromHillandale Gardens & Nursery. Tapacloth design adapted from PNG Tapacloth design, painted onto a fragment of Antique French legal documentation

I've been identified as Asian and/orPacific Islander for as long as I canremember. Some of the patterns andmotifs in both Asian and Pasifica textilepatterns seem to share the same originsthough the end result is very different.

Traditional Pacific Island art is often

categorized as ‘primitive’ though thetechniques are complex and the skill levelrequirement is high.It is interesting to note that both PacificTapa cloth and paper invented by theChinese both start from the bark of theMulberry tree



What you best price?

collage of 'found' objects on sewn antiquedocuments


I love trawling SE Asian markets. I couldn't believemy eyes when I first visited them in 1988 and willmake sure just about every trip abroad includes anopportunity to explore the local markets at myleisure. I always go alone, try and fit in visually and browse to my hearts content - it all goes swimminglyuntil I open my mouth... but then the fun begins and

the questions start.I have also been a beach comber for as long as I canremember. My dad said to me once (about our time we spent on the beach as a family (which was a lot)):"you never spent a lot of time with us at the beach(mum and dad) - you were always on the shorelinesorting it out"This is a collection of shells from Indonesia and Australia. The lures are from Lombok and there are

a couple of 'precious' items such as branch coral, acameo and a pearl - all 'treasures' I had for years,earmarked for something special.The background documentation is a mix of oldfrench antique legal documents - see the date of19/08/1782, chinese bank notes, old Australianpostcards and stamps. At the time the dated Frenchdocument was drawn up, the items displayed here would have been considered rare and valuable - not

simply trinkets brought home from a holiday.



If hello kitty and maneki nekowere Novgorod icons

I'm going straight to hell for these:I was raised Catholic - a crucifix

above every bed, Catholic. We had alot of religious images in the house but my favourites werereproductions of famous religiousicons: the flat layers of paint, gold, jewel embellishments and stiffposes.Heroes/'gods' of another age.... just

like Hello Kitty and Maneki Neko

Maneki Neko as an icon 1 Watercolour, gouache, pencil and collageon Arches paper

Framed size: 23cm x 28cm$250



If Hello Kitty was a Novgorodicon Watercolour, poster paint, pencil,pen and collage on Indian khadi

paper


$280



Maneki Neko as an icon 2

Watercolour, gouache, pencil andcollage on Arches paper


$250



‘Words to live by’

Ten little butterfly and moth images on the following pages:

These represent lessons I am learning in life - mostly lessons about my own behaviour andhow what I say/do can impact others after years of raging against perceived injusticesagainst my race/background.

We've all experienced ugly episodes in our lives - but sometimes, out of that ugliness comes

delicacy and beauty.

I'm not perfect - I still upset and offend but I'm learning...



‘’Empathy’ ( Emperor Moth)

Watercolour and pencil on Arches paper Framed size: 31.5cm x 31.5cm

$300.00



‘’Hope’ ( NZ Red Admiral Butterfly)

Watercolour and pencil on Arches paper Framed size: 26cm x 20cm

$280.00



‘’Kindness’ ( Monarch Butterfly)


$300.00



‘’Love’ ( Small Tortoiseshell Butterfly)


$280.00



‘’Diversity’ ( Redeye Flat Butterfly)


$280.00



‘’Peace’ ( Australian Admiral Butterfly)


$280.00



‘’Tolerance’ ( Scarlet Jezebel Butterfly)


$280.00



‘’Respect’ ( Orchard Swallowtail Butterfly)

Watercolour and pencil on Arches paper Framed size: 31.5cm x 31.5cm

$300.00



‘’Joy’ ( Common Blue Butterfly)


$260.00



‘’Integrity’ ( Dryandra Moth)


$280.00



For all enquiries please contact:

Juliet RosserDirector

72 OXFORD STREET DARLINGHURST 2010

PH +612 8068 81 84 M 0401 177 291

CENTRAL PARK

28 BROADWAY CHIPPENDALE 2008

SHOPONLINE PLATFORMSTORE.COM

Documents

Gabby Malpas P72 Catalogue