Restraint: Peta O'Brien

We pass by so much each day without acknowledging the patterns and beauty of the world around us. Modernity has hot-wired us to be entranced by the big moments in life—the monuments, mountains, and skyscrapers, both real and metaphorical. Our macro-focus rests on illuminated screens and the impossibly beautiful faces that adorn our social media feeds.

But what of the smaller moments—the patterns in the sand, twisted by the morning dew of a dry creek bed, or the way your companion’s lips move amid a beautiful conversation? This awareness is the subliminal double helix of our ability to see the world beyond its surface veneer. It is here that Peta O’Brien’s practice operates. Throughout her career, she has forensically reconstructed the things we overlook, elevating and recontextualising the mundane to the point of reverence.

Restraint is an exhibition about the feeling of what one sees. This exhibition is the sum of its parts: a long line of ceramic vessels, each individually shaped by the artist’s dexterous fingers. The shifts in tone and texture speak to an awareness of the importance of differentiation in a world where homogenisation is supreme.

Whilst the vessel is rich in metaphor, it is worth considering the ancient history of the ceramic form. Its shape allowed for the transport and storage of water and food. Trade became possible, and sustenance could be preserved for times of scarcity. If the wheel revolutionised how we moved, the ceramic vessel enhanced and extended the way we lived.

The ancient world has been a constant for the artist. Recognition of an object’s raw, handmade quality—when the maker’s hand was still evident—was intrinsic to creation. The pressed dimple in each of her vessels is a nod to a heritage that predates the written word. It is also inherently human. Small in scale, these works possess a sense of humanness—there is a sensuousness to the form, curved and moulded.

Restraint references the artist's recent physical trials: a complicated surgery that required her to tether the scale of her work. Ironically, through this physical restraint, she has examined the world's minutiae in all its complexity, elevating her subjects to a grander pantheon of awareness.