Chalice

by Claire Beausein

The winner of the Mandorla Art Award 2022

21 May to 10 June, 2022 - Holmes à Court Gallery West Perth

Theme: Metamorphosis – a profound or radical change.
Reference: “I am about to do a new thing; now it springs forth, do you not perceive it?” (Isaiah 43:19)…

Claire Beausein was the thrilled winner of the major $25,000 Mandorla Art Award with Chalice, a stunning work created from wild silkworm cocoons stitched together with silk thread. A poignant addition to the work is the use of entomology pins, traditionally employed in museums to secure moths for display. Claire's ancestors were lace makers, and this influence is inherent in her work. She studied at the Sydney College of the Arts, graduating in 1984 with a Bachelor of Arts (textiles) in 1984.

Judges Chris Malcolm, Erin Coates and Ros Fairless said:

"The prophetic imagination invites us to lay aside old ways of being and sources of authority, and to imagine new futures. Claire’s work embodies this call, as she moves beyond symbolism and works patiently with raw materials, each chrysalis a vessel that holds transformation. The shimmering, luminous quality of the work had an immediate impact on all three judges, and the decision was swift and unanimous. The work evokes images of shedding one’s skin in order to grow, of ceremonial scrolls, cloaks, and other religious ephemera, but the artist’s lightness of hand lends the work a magical quality, as if silkworms themselves had made it. Exquisitely made, Chalice floats off the background, shimmering with golden, dappled light and shadow, inviting us to imagine… "

When I read about the theme for this year’s Mandorla Award I was excited and enthusiastic to enter. I felt it was a great chance to explore the process of creativity through metamorphosis. I am thrilled and honoured to have my work ‘Chalice’ selected as a finalist in this important Award.

‘Chalice’ 2022 details

My work ‘Chalice’ speaks of reorganisation and renewal, the tenuous nature of life and of infinite creativity springing forth. As with a moth’s chrysalis, the golden chalice holds and shrouds the wonder of transformation.

The wild silk moth discards the delicate cocoons, which are woven with a single silk thread, when they emerge. The cocoons were the perfect medium to inspire and express my thoughts and feelings about the theme. Each represented a unique window to creativity, conveying the gravitas of profound change with the fragility of lace.

‘Chalice’ 2022 detail

The golden cocoons suggested to me light refracting from the surface of a chalice or an ancient celestial map of the starry night sky, of stars burning bright, transmuting and creating new elements, of the Universe bubbling with energy.

‘Chalice’ 2022 detail

The meditative work to prepare and stitch the hundreds of silk cocoons became a journey of wonder as I discovered the endless variations held in the one genetic blueprint. Stitching them together, using the natural colour variations, I imagined that they became like the fabric of the universe on a small scale, or like the chrysalis inside the cocoon metamorphosing into a moth on a large scale, each signifying a chalice holding the wonder of creation.

A most poignant moment for me in making this work came when I picked up some entomology pins in my studio and realised how traditionally they are used in museums to pin a moth for display. I decided to use them to pin the cocoon lace referencing how the passage of time affects and transforms all things.