Contained
Cecile Williams (Australia)
Monday 8 February 2010
After spending weeks collecting the plastic rubbish that washed up on the shores of Christmas Island, visual artist Williams created miniature dioramas that collectively tell a narrative of the histories of the Chinese and Malay peoples on the Island. Scenes, people, and backdrops are elaborately carved into lost flip-flops, WWII air raids created by a fleet of tiny plastic soldiers and fighter planes, and the plight of the detained immigrant workers in the mines are pieced together with bits of detritus. The volume of which, according to the Jury, blatantly calls for action.