Structurally Sound Solo Exhibition by Laura Purcell

About the book

Structurally Sound explores invisible productivity created within societal structures and sectors.A number of creative considerations led to this exhibition.A two month artist-in-residence education program, at Launceston College through Arts Tasmania, in early 2022 provided a fertile ground for threads of ideas to form, reflect, discuss and prototype. From a practice where performance and collaboration previously drove the creative process, I found myself nurturing a solo studio practice, informed and influenced by imagery, site, dialogue and materials. I was surrounded by college students navigating their way towards adulthood, with bold creative responses unpacking subject matter from climate change, body image to sexual assault. Additional influences were located on the college's historic site with its layers of incarceration, execution and release. Flash backs to my own college experiences were reflected in the familiar loop of popular culture's music, fashion and politics. This all highlighted a contemporary immediacy to broader global issues and the emotional response from the personal and societal.Structurally Sound is my first solo exhibition. It was a necessary labour of love, a social response and a gesture of acknowledgement of the support, care and protection invisible producers provide. As artist in residence, sharing the conceptual process and returning with physical artworks to exhibit for a community of educators and students to enjoy and experience has provided wonderful ongoing connections, further dialogue and creative scope.