SWELL Smalls Gallery | SEAN WILLIAMS | 35

/ / Smalls 2023 Artist Statements

SWELL Smalls Gallery 2023 Artwork – Sovereign

‘Sovereign’ is a series of works based on the form of a crown, fashioned from obsolete farming equipment. Each is presented on a ‘cushion’ made of rammed earth, referencing the European tradition of presenting the Crown Jewels on a velvet cushion. However, there is a stark contrast between the base materials and our expectations of value and beauty. This work is a comment on the claim of European sovereignty over Australian soil and speaks to the subjugation of the land and the peoples that inhabited it by a foreign power.