Claire Healy and Sean Cordeiro - 'Deceased Estate' 2004 & 'Hamper' 2006
Australian artists, Claire Healy and Sean Cordeiro have been working collaboratively since 2001. Now based in Sydney, they together have lived a nomadic lifestyle to which much of their work is based around. Focusing on the idea of impermanence and transitory living, many of their works are created using found objects and non-art materials. The couple’s creativity and their manifests in their artistic visualizations are exhibited through their many ephemeral art installations.
‘Hamper’, the couple’s 2006 art installation was made using 9 months worth of recycled newspapers and advertising leaflets, along with 9 months worth of empty beer bottles; all condensed neatly under a portable picnic table. ‘Hamper’ symbolszes Healy and Cordeiro’s living circumstances when they were first living in Berlin. Together they lived off one art scholarship and made by on the least. The materials they have chosen to use highlight their concept of temporary living, in the sense that all they had, and all they were could be packed up and moved, under this portable table. The recycled paper signifying their little money and possessions, and the picnic table symbolic of home and a connection to the people around you; as a picnic table is where one would meet with their loved ones.
The cautious and careful way to which Healy and Cordeiro assemble their work is also something to be noted. The couple transform simple, quotidian objects into extraordinary installments of art through their radical and astonishing designs.
‘Deceased Estate’ one of their 2004 installations, consists of a strategically placed mound of household items, suspended in what one would call a ‘throw out heap’. The heap contains the entire contents of the couple’s small artists’ studio in Germany. The insides of the messy studio have been consciously assembled together to create the gigantic ball aptly tied together with string. In this work, Healy and Cordeiro wanted to take objects from the ordinary consumer society and transform them into extravagant works of aspect and beauty. The work cleverly pertains back to the idea of temporary living, alongside the notion of human relationship with their environments. Similarly to Healy and Cordeiro’s work ‘Hamper’, the remarkable frequency at which the couple had to bundle their lives up, and move on, is emphasised in the shape and design of their work; the use of string to tie together a mass heap of objects, so simply and profoundly manageable.
Being described as an “urban nomad” by Healy herself, both Sean and Clare share an insightful and imaginative outlook on the world of contemporary art. Their focus on the impermanence of society living, and the importance of innovative composition, has made them one of the most cutting-edge collaborative artists of our time.
‘Hamper’, the couple’s 2006 art installation was made using 9 months worth of recycled newspapers and advertising leaflets, along with 9 months worth of empty beer bottles; all condensed neatly under a portable picnic table. ‘Hamper’ symbolszes Healy and Cordeiro’s living circumstances when they were first living in Berlin. Together they lived off one art scholarship and made by on the least. The materials they have chosen to use highlight their concept of temporary living, in the sense that all they had, and all they were could be packed up and moved, under this portable table. The recycled paper signifying their little money and possessions, and the picnic table symbolic of home and a connection to the people around you; as a picnic table is where one would meet with their loved ones.
The cautious and careful way to which Healy and Cordeiro assemble their work is also something to be noted. The couple transform simple, quotidian objects into extraordinary installments of art through their radical and astonishing designs.
‘Deceased Estate’ one of their 2004 installations, consists of a strategically placed mound of household items, suspended in what one would call a ‘throw out heap’. The heap contains the entire contents of the couple’s small artists’ studio in Germany. The insides of the messy studio have been consciously assembled together to create the gigantic ball aptly tied together with string. In this work, Healy and Cordeiro wanted to take objects from the ordinary consumer society and transform them into extravagant works of aspect and beauty. The work cleverly pertains back to the idea of temporary living, alongside the notion of human relationship with their environments. Similarly to Healy and Cordeiro’s work ‘Hamper’, the remarkable frequency at which the couple had to bundle their lives up, and move on, is emphasised in the shape and design of their work; the use of string to tie together a mass heap of objects, so simply and profoundly manageable.
Being described as an “urban nomad” by Healy herself, both Sean and Clare share an insightful and imaginative outlook on the world of contemporary art. Their focus on the impermanence of society living, and the importance of innovative composition, has made them one of the most cutting-edge collaborative artists of our time.