Emerging Contemporaries

Lea Durie
Canberra Potters Society
Artist statement
When the River Runs Dry is a response to
road trip to Broken Hill in 2019, through
drought ravaged country, crossing once
mighty rivers now pools of muddy water,
along highways lined by cotton caught
in the weeds by the roadside. It takes its
name from community-based activism in
Wilcannia in 2016 which sought to bring
attention to the poor state of the Barka
(Darling River) caused by both drought
and water usage for large scale agriculture
such as cotton farming.
The work is an intersection of materials
connected to this western NSW
landscape. It has a quietness and detail
that creates a space inviting the viewer
to pause and ponder what has become
of our Murray-Darling river system in this
time of climate change. It questions the
way that land is occupied and used in
colonial and contemporary times.
Biography
Lea Durie is an artist based in Braidwood
and Canberra. Lea is currently undertaking
a Bachelor of Visual Arts with a ceramics
major at the Australian National University
School of Art and Design. Lea’s work
explores post-colonial land use, its
contribution to land degradation and
climate change, and is influenced by
feminist thinking and perspectives of
place. Lea’s background as a landscape
architect informs the mark making and
conceptual thinking in her work.
Lea’s work is often installation based,
using ceramics as the foundation
supported by found objects, textiles and
other materials.
Lea was the recipient Craft ACT 2020
Emerging Artist’s award at the Canberra
Potter’s Members Exhibition and was also
the recipient of the ANU Boronia Award for
academic excellence in ceramics in 2018.
Image: When the River Runs Dry, 2020, ceramic,
cotton thread and cloth, beeswax, timber and metal,
dimensions variable. Photo: Lean Timms.
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