The Thylacine That Followed Me Home
A pocket sized mystery
During Dark Mofo this winter, I was leaving the Hi-Fi bar for a show at the Odeon when I pulled on my hot pink fluffy jacket that I borrowed from my kid. It felt heavier than usual.
Inside the pocket was a palm-sized clay object.
A thylacine paw print.
Not mine.
I stood there for a bewildered minute.
I showed my friends. We were all excited by the mystery. It felt significant and a bit mystical. I’ve spent years thinking about the thylacine through my collaboration with Professor Andrew Pask for A Moment to Reflect, so finding this clay paw hidden in my pocket felt serendipitous.
On the back, the letters R R were stamped.
The next week I became obsessed with solving the mystery.
I retraced my steps…from the Winter Feast to the Bob Brown Foundation exhibition, conversations at the Hi Fi bar, and memories of meeting clay artist Ruth Rutherford at The Unconformity last year. I even sent a photo to Professor Andrew Pask to ask whether the print was anatomically accurate.
Eventually I went back to the exhibition at the Long Gallery and found Ruth’s work at the exhibition. I sent her a message.
The Game Continued
Unable to resist continuing this playful exchange, I bought another clay paw and quietly slipped it into my friend Kirsha’s handbag over lunch at MONA.
I had a theory that she’d been the one to slip the original paw into my jacket pocket, and this was my way of finding out.
No explanation.
No words.
And then
Weeks later...
It came back to me.
Different paw. Same journey.
Ah ha! Reciprocal Loki spirit engaged ;)
I love the way objects travel between people, collecting stories as they go.
Meeting Ruth
This exprience led me to a collaboaration. Yesterday Ruth Rutherford and I arranged to meet at the brilliant new MONA Library, Phrontisterion. Together we’re creating an edition of six necklaces using her clay thylacine paws, each hand-set in forged brass and suspended on leather cord. They’re all different, and will be released one by one as they are hand made.
I asked Ruth about her process, and this is what she had to say:
As a thank you for supporting my practice here on Substack, you’ll see the necklaces offered here first, initially to subscribers, then I’ll open it up to everyone if still available.
There will only be six in this first edition, and they’re individually stamped with numbers.
Giving Back
$20 from every necklace sold will be donated to the Bob Brown Foundation.
Thanks for reading,
Emma x
PURCHASE LINK HERE
the [Naqada] pots were further researched the next day at the Phrontisterion