Mandy Quadrio

Uterine bag series 2020

This series of uterine bags refer to past and present histories of palawa women. The permeable membranes that make up these gendered bags of history allow the stories to seep out. Into these membranous bags I pour my stories. Some stories are held, some leak out and some are unformed.

The material of steel wool is a harsh, abrasive metal that is used to scrub away, erase and eradicate the unwanted. I use this material as a metaphor for ways in which there have been historical attempts to erase palawa women from the landscape and how we are still having our presence and validity questioned.