Robyn Norval

VIRTUAL TOUR

ARTIST CATALOGUE

Vessels of Inheritance

This exhibition is a product of reflection on the formation of identity by investigating the ideology of the body as a living archive and carrier through life. My practice embodies an ontological exploration and commemoration of my maternal lineage. I have interpreted the concept of “generational inheritance” as the central idea throughout my work, which is concerned with the internal and external relations of and to the human body. Defined as different forms of transfer and connection between generations, this includes hereditary genetics, preserved and collected belongings, and the shared experiences of existence. To articulate and visualise this narrative of time holding the lost and the living, this multifaceted installation forms a transportive and imaginative space as a type of ‘capsule’ of the different, consecutive time fragments. 

My work compares the permanence of the past to the ephemerality of the present, which displays the relationship and engagement of people and things, as forms and beholders of memory. My artistic execution draws reference from nature in different forms, to symbolise the phenomenology of how our minds and bodies grow and change over time. This theme of precarity is presented by the unfortunate and unexpected similarity of the hereditary trauma revealed through a neurological event - the brain aneurysm. And so, aligning with the possibilities of inheritance through first-degree relatives, my family history portrays this recurring, yet unforeseeable occurrence. This cerebrovascular disorder is characterised as a build-up of pressure leading to a weakening in a blood vessel, which then bulges and suddenly ruptures in the brain, revealing itself through extensive bleeding. It took over the life of my grandmother. Her absence is now rendered. Her nature of being as the person she was and the life she lived, is carried through the remnants of valuable materiality in the few possessions and photographs we have left, as well as the traits and memories my mother holds after growing up with her. My practical approach of replication in wood and its temporal and tangible qualities cultivates a process of preservation and relationship of connection, which represents a space of stillness and longing. My mother suffered this loss and, later, also the experience of collapsing, yet surviving and facing the consequential complications of this anatomical flaw. The physical and emotional pain she is left with reflects the strength and resilience she has grown to embrace. 

Inspired by and symbolic of this inherent essence and presence of my mother, are my interpreted, recreated features of her physical body, identity and experiences, which signify aspects of progression and transformation into the ever-fleeting present. The materials and imagery I have chosen manifest the evolving temporal nature of a more contemporary, lively and dynamic space in time, in contrast to the traditional earlier era. By further illuminating this link in genealogy, the dimensional forms and functionalities of these bodily sculpted pieces hold resemblance to those of the passive objects. They are balancing on and intertwined with the contrasting supportive and fragile, connective structural vessels, broken and then mended. 

This alludes to the tangibility of what’s expected and considered normal, in contrast to and potentially disrupted by the ambiguity, instability and power of the unknown. This documentative practice, of tracing the imprints of my heritage which are inscribed into my being, confronts the inevitability and unpredictability of risk in the future to unfold. In essence, it takes form as a visual manifestation and living testament, that despite the disruptive complexities of life, celebrates the lives of my grandmother and mother, which persist as an integral part of all I am, and will become.