Still Life

November - December 2009

A Nostalgic State Ripe with Memories & Feelings

Evoking feelings of remembrance and loss Still Life embodied a never-ending ever-changing cycle of birth, youth, solitude, death and decay – a poignant reminder of the bittersweet beauty of life.
Using traditional triggers from still life painting in a decaying sculptural form, serene but never still, a tipped jug continuously spilt milk from a bone china tea set on top of an old-dresser, milk cascading down one draw to the next and up to the top again in an endless milk-fall cycle.

Exhibition

COFA Annual
UNSW College of Fine Arts
Paddington, NSW

Materials

Wooden Dresser
Mirror
Milk
Bone China
Water Pump

Awards

Dinosaur Designs Prize
Mitre 10 Art Prize
Dean’s List

Perran’s works are simply full of life...
are invigorating and fresh, and there is a
sense of complete originality in these
wonderful works of art.

Design Local

Perran’s works are simply full of life... are invigorating and fresh, and there is a sense of complete originality in these
wonderful works of art.

Design Local

A Profound
Waking Dream

Still Life’s old dresser, mirror, china tea set and an eerily ever-flowing cascade of milk powerfully triggered memories of grandparents, great uncles and aunts: a nostalgic psychosomatic state ripe with associated memories and feeling: exploring the domestic worlds of the aged as a child, early childhood conceptions of ageing, multi-generational family gatherings.
It was as if the viewer’s dearest aged relative had died in the midst of pouring their tea, but the milk had just continued to pour – a profound waking dream symbolising birth, youth, solitude, death and decay.  Still Life was built to last only a finite amount of time, the milk slowly clogged up and the artwork destroyed itself. The smell of milk filled the air as the dresser’s big round mirror reflected the viewer, integrating them into the artwork – a direct ‘this is your life’ invitation to engage.

Design Local

“Perran Costi tells a story of a near-death experience he went through after suffering an accident, and it is perhaps due to this that his works are simply full of life… are invigorating and fresh, and there is a sense of complete originality in these wonderful works of art. Designed to entrance and inspire. That they do, without fail, is a testament to Perran Costi’s amazing creativity”

Cofa Annual

COFA Annual 2009 Exhibition Sculpture Highlights Allan Giddy, COFA lecturer, and Director of the Environmental Research Institute for Art, takes us on a guided tour of some of the best sculpture works from the 2009 COFA Annual Exhibition
Allan’s vibrant commentary takes us through the inspiration, meaning and impact of the sculpture and installation works against the backdrop of the excitement of the opening night 

Still Life Photos

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