Sera Waters is featured in the May issue of the Adelaide Review in the lead up to her exhibition at Hugo Michell Gallery, ‘Dazzleland’.
Dazzleland is Waters’ first major exhibition of completely new work since she finished her PhD last year and it is marked by a more experimental approach with the inclusion of textile techniques, including colonial knots and cross-stitch. The exhibition is the next iteration of Domestic Acts, exhibited at ACE Open in 2017, where Waters delved into her family history in order to interrogate the ongoing legacies of colonial homemaking. Dazzleland, which plays on Adelaide’s history with a cheeky reference to the Myer Centre’s infamous amusement attraction of the early 1990s, mostly refers to the Australian mineral booms, which attracted many migrants over many generations, including the artist’s ancestors.
“We have family history in copper mining with family members also heading over to the gold rush,” Waters says. “At the time it was a dazzling new place and I’m interested in the after effects of what it means to take all the resources out without due care.”