Harrison Rae
Winner
Bachelor of Fine Arts
Harrison Rae, Busby’s Labourers, 2023, Ceramic, 61cmx21cm. Image Courtesy: The artist.
Artist statement
Busby’s Labourers is a series of ceramic tiles that uses ceramic glazes and carving tools to draw 19th Century Australian convicts. Referencing depictions of convicts in Australian paintings from the 19th Century, the tiles in Busby’s Labourers serve as an opportunity to acknowledge the undocumented workers that built the bore running from Centennial Park to Hyde Park in 24 hour shifts over a 10 year period. This work in combination with a site-specific work at the entrance to Busby’s Bore in Centennial Park uses tiles to critique plaques in Centennial Park, Hyde Park and at UNSW AD which celebrate John Busby and seeks to counter established narratives embedded within these places.
Acknowledgement of Country
UNSW School of Art & Design stands on an important place of learning and exchange first occupied by the Bidjigal and Gadigal peoples.
We acknowledge the Bidjigal and Gadigal peoples as the Traditional Custodians of the land that our students and staff share, create and operate on. We pay our respects to Elders past and present and extend this respect to all First Nations peoples across Australia. Sovereignty has never been ceded.
