Ceramic artist Janet Fieldhouse describes her work as ‘an expression of my Torres Strait Islander heritage: the material culture, rituals of social and religious life, and artefacts which are created to fulfil the functional and spiritual needs of the peoples of the Torres Strait’.

Mark and Memory: Janet Fieldhouse is a body of work arising from cultural investigations undertaken by Fieldhouse in recent years. These investigations have focused on three areas of Torres Strait Islander culture: women’s basketry, dance, and body decoration, in the form of scarification – which is no longer practised – and ink tattooing.

The delicately crafted ceramic pieces that make up Mark and Memory reinterpret traditional Torres Strait Islander fibre baskets and bags, as well as dance armbands, and speak of the decorative and ritual aspects of scarification and ink tattoos. Of her particular interest in scarification, Fieldhouse has said:

‘The history of marking skin was unseen and not heard of in my generation. Instead, current generations use ink tattooing as a means of expressing one’s heritage. My idea was to research and produce a body of work to bring back what was unseen marking, so that the next generation will know that scarification was once a strong part of our heritage.’

Janet Fieldhouse’s practice as a ceramicist both honours and maintains Torres Strait Islander culture. At the same time, Fieldhouse’s inventive melding of ancient forms and contemporary art idioms has gained her a reputation as one of Australia’s leading young contemporary artists.

Image: Janet Fieldhouse, Tattoo (detail), 2011, porcelain with light box, Collection: Shepparton Art Museum, 2012 acquired through the 2011 Indigenous Ceramic Art Award, Winner - First Prize