U - Beaut: Utility 2008

Utility, an annual exhibition of work by Object Art and Design students at Sydney College of the Arts, explores the theme U-Beaut and the idea of an Australian vernacular. The exhibition, part of Sydney Design 08, provides a forum for critical dialogue that interfaces between practices and discourses in contemporary art, craft and design.

Marion Legrand, an Object Art and Design student exhibiting in Utility, says, “This year’s theme is about Australia’s culture. As I am an exchange student from France, this theme interests me. It’s a way for me to give my ‘European’ (and French) vision of your culture. As I am really interested in kitchenware, I concentrated on the Australian’s use of cooking utensils. What I noticed is that there isn’t any particularly strong cultural objects in the kitchen as we have in different parts of France. For example in Alsace we have the Kugeloff’s cake mould.

An object which really interests me, isn’t typically Aussie, but we don’t use it in France. It is the plastic take-away container. In European restaurants we don’t take home the food left on our plate. It’s just not polite, whereas here, it’s totally normal! So I have created 3 different types of take-away containers in ceramics. This could demonstrate the importance of the humble container in your culture and elevate it’s stature to that of the plate and cake mould. The nobleness of ceramics transforms it into an important and chic object.”

U - Beaut: Utility opens on Tuesday 5 August, 6 - 8pm, in the Sydney College of the Arts Gallery, and continues until Saturday 30 August.
Gallery hours: Tuesday to Friday 11am - 5pm, Saturday 11am - 4pm