Miniature object based works depicting a

The creative works were presented as a solo exhibition titled 'This Beguiling Shelf' and were the outcomes of a 3 month residency at Youkobo Artspace in Tokyo, Japan from Dec to February 2012/2013. The purpose of the residency was to conduct research into the incidental personal museums that we sometimes make through the collection, arrangement and display of miniature objects. The research was to investigate examples of the collector's space as experienced in the public Japanese urban environment, concentrating on Tokyo, and to consider objects and display systems that could be viewed as having an aesthetic idiosyncratic to this urban milieu.This research culminated in the making of object based works that were then presented in four large installation spaces, or 'shelves' in the studio of the Youkobo Artspace. A reference for this work was American artist Mark Dion who investigates the collection and display culture, often with the implication of environmental conservation. The work produced during this residency and for exhibition included waste products sourced from the urban environment, but did not adhere to an environmental standpoint as in Dion's work, but were used rather as a methodology to articulate observations of the location. This work was original through the incorporation of a jewellery making sensitivity of technique, detail and the miniature into the production of small scale (non-wearable objects). Whereas Dion often utilises collected objects, I created new objects from a variety of mixed media, that appeared to have been imaginatively 'collected' and housed as collection groups. These works also inventions of new original character scenarios inspired by popular cultural merchandise sourced during this residency. The exhibition of these works in Youkobo Artspace enabled a new audience outside of Australia to experience the works. The residency was through application process directly to the organisation, Youkobo Artspace.