Leah Fraser: Odyssey and Oracle

This collection of work is based on stories of diverse cultures worldwide; tied together by the thread of the ocean, guided by the stars, emerging from the pool that is history and magic and the unknown, the waters of life, the rivers used for second sight,” says Fraser.

“The characters are magicians, shamans – healers that are knowledgeable or spiritual beings with a deep respect and understanding of the natural world. They are all on vision quests, wanderers on a journey to find someone or some thing, they have intense, intimate relationships with local lands and animals. Decorated in clothing and plants in a ceremonial splendour, they are also armed with ritualistic weaponry or instruments used for their practice.”

Fraser says the ceramic objects she makes are part of expanding the sense of the world that this tribe may inhabit. “Votive figures with wide-open eyes were used in many cultures to represent gods or people in shrines of worship. The highly decorated ‘magic bottles’ can be understood as being the kinds of objects that might fill a magicians apothecary, or be the property of a medicine man, perhaps a part of a shrine. They are each an embodiment of a piece of nature in some way.”