Cornflower Dreams

Cornflower Dreams inspired by Lene's story, 2024
Ceramic and mixed media
$22,000

Inspired by the cornflower pattern, Vipoo Srivilasa created a deity with a cornflower head crowned by Lene’s cup. Inside the cup is a beach house where Lene first experienced pottery making as a child. The deity is adorned with multiple handles and hands, symbolising the collective effort in crafting a single teacup. The hands form a ‘V’ sign representing Lene’s triumph in realising her dream in Australia.

LENE'S STORY

I came to Australia in 1985. I’m still a Danish citizen. I did my 4-years of training as a ceramist in Denmark from 1974 to 1978. I met my (now) husband in Greece when we were both on holidays. After experiencing a long dark winter in northern Norway, Peter wanted to return to Australia and asked me to come with him. I spent nine months here, seeing the country, and I even had a job. I then returned to Denmark for three months to sort out my affairs and pack up my belongings so I could move to Australia. I've enjoyed a 30-year career in Ceramics in Australia, working from a home studio and balancing work with family life.

My first visa was only a tourist visa, but when I emigrated, I had to be interviewed at the embassy in Copenhagen. I had a piece of paper that said we would get married in three months. If you didn’t get married, then you would be sent home.

I didn't know much about Australia. I had seen an exhibition of Aboriginal paintings in Copenhagen along with a ceramics exhibition which featured a large pot by Milton Moon. I remember as a child of around 10, my parents rented a beach house. Nearby was a dune with some clay. My sister and I dug the clay and made little pots with it, pressing flowers into them.

When I decided to come here, I sorted my things to be packed but it ended up being packed by someone else. It was a box, a cubic meter of stuff. When I saw this box on the lawn in Preston, I thought, "Oh, no! I have really done it. I have really moved”. This box contained my earthly belongings – my bicycle, my sewing machine, quite a bit of pottery and clothes. It was a big decision.

The moment that I felt like Australia was my home was when I realised I had lived here for more years than I had lived anywhere else. I've been lucky to go back many times with my children. I wanted them to know the culture and it helped me to keep a bit too.

You have to throw yourself into something [like moving to another country] … it’s a leap of faith. It’s like, "If I don't do it, will I regret that I didn't do it?" You can't predict the future and so you just must make the best of it and be happy with what you have done.

OBJECT

My wheel thrown cup (with a broken handle attached to the rim) was made at a pottery in Copenhagen where I worked for 5 years. I remember making those handles because coming straight from the rim was a bit different. I don’t recall how the handle was broken, but I used glue to fix it as I didn’t want to lose the pieces.

Underneath the cup is the stamp of the pottery as well as the signature of Henriette, the designer and decorator. I brought this cup with me when I immigrated to Australia in 1985 and for me it symbolises the hope I had that one day I would establish my own studio.

Image top: Vipoo Srivilasa, Cornflower Dreams 2024 Photo: Simon Strong