Ziggy Lever

Notes for Milton, Turner (2012)

12 min 7 secSingle channel / Digital Video / Colour / Sound

"A close shot sits evenly on a piece of china; the willow pattern that decorates it is visible but not totally revealed, and the extended, motionless focus on the cup forces an encounter with an object that is not quite declaring itself. But delving deeper into Lever’s work, his interest in the china extends into the histories of the Chinese willow pattern. Appropriated in the 18th Century from the decorative patterns on Chinese ceramics, the design has been in use ever since, and has become ubiquitous in china collections in homes in New Zealand and beyond. The protracted gaze on the teacup suggests a different kind of ghosting, a historical palimpsest of references, language and activity in the domestic setting that Lever reconsiders in this work."

Julia Lomas

Other works by Ziggy Lever

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