Fiona Borthwick (SA)

Confessions of a Hoarder

‘Confessions of a Hoarder’ explores the connection we have with objects and the value we place on them. Objects are obtained or collected for a number of reasons, they may be functional, aesthetically pleasing, or have monetary or sentimental value. But whatever the reason we wish to possess them, they become ours, intimate and familiar parts of our world. Sometimes, through our familiarity an object adopts a character or persona; these are my fancy wine glasses, my sporty shoes, my quirky hat. 

Informed by stories of yokai - creatures depicted in Japanese folklore that were once ordinary household objects but when left unused and idle become alive, grow limbs and torment their owners for their neglect. This exhibition investigates the artist’s personal connection with items of clothing and the variable links she has drawn between them and significant or memorable events, experiences and relationships. For the artist, these connections imbue these items with character and value, making them difficult to discard even if they have not been worn or used for many years. In essence, they are living, tangible manifestations of experience and memory.

Fiona is an artist and curator based in Adelaide, South Australia. After completing a Master of Visual Art in 2012, she then completed a Master of Arts (Curatorial and Museum Studies) and Master of Arts (Studies in Art History) in 2015. Having worked with a range of organisations including CACSA, SALA Festival, FELTspace, Ullens Centre for Contemporary Art (Beijing), and now the Centre for Creative Health, she has recently returned to her visual art practice. Working with both digital and traditional photographic processes her visual art practice explores ideas of memory and identity, often using personal experience to interrogate the effect of the past on her present self.