Abstract
Kerri’s work as an installation artist combines her skills as a designer of three dimensional spaces with a creative use of form and materials. Her work explores the synthesis of sustainable technologies and recycled materials. It involves collecting samples and experimenting with a range of different raw materials sourced from various recycling repositories and researching available “low energy” lighting and power generating technologies. The resulting artwork is an amalgamation of the two processes.
In December 2008, the University of Technology Sydney commissioned her to create a series of sculptural installations which would address the current issue of global warming by demonstrating how beautiful artworks could be made, using sustainable practises. The commission culminated in the production of three installations: a group of totems, a series of circular discs and a mangrove forest.
“The Australian Centre for Event Management (UTS) and Kerri Ainsworth (The Designing Woman), recently collaborated to create unique artworks using recycled materials and energy efficient lighting for an event at the Museum of Contemporary Art.
“The inspiration for one of my pieces came from the regeneration of the Australian bush after fire,” said Kerri. “I created a forest of totems, etched by fire and glowing from within”, adding that her conceptual sketches are reminiscent of Australian flora, with an eerie, other worldly quality, illustrating rebirth and re-growth.
“As a designer working in film, television and events, creating a new design involves research and concept sketches, with materials and fabrication as a final step in the process. Creating these pieces, the process is reversed. The materials suggest the form.” “The Green Art of Events” Main Event, Feb 2009
The installations were displayed on three separate occasions; at a function at the MCA, again at the city campus of UTS and finally at a conference on the Gold Coast.
Her next piece was an 8 meter steel armature, rigged from the ceiling and covered in LED cliplights and decorations, featuring at Star City, Xmas 2009.
“I believe that through my work, I can create greater public awareness of the importance of minimizing our impact on the environment, while playfully engaging the viewer.”