A pink body, with numerous pink dishwashing gloves protruding from its chest and stomach, sits half reclined on a beach chair, its legs outstretched, atop a cowskin rug. The figure is armless and has a pink glitter horn extending from its neck, in place of a head. The figure is a projection of the artist’s fantasies (both hopes and fears) about impending motherhood; the imagined shifts in body, mind, identity, labour, and desire.
On the wall beside the pink figure are four panels of silver glitter paper, arranged in a grid, featuring fluoro text. The text comprises abstract phrases relating to domesticity: that’s what the microwave told me to do; dishwashing casualty; avocado in the charging port;fridge decisions. The glitter and fluoro material elevates the banal subject matter to incantations for the everyday.
Tessa Bergan is a visual artist working and playing respectfully on the lands of the Kombumerri families of the Yugambeh language region (Gold Coast). Her multi-modal practice has taken the form of sculpture, performance, digital media, and most recently text-based art. Her work has explored the character of her local city, as well as her personal narrative, often with self-reflexive humour. Tessa has been actively involved in the Gold Coast arts community for several years, contributing to exhibitions and performances, collaborating with peers, and working in arts education alongside her creative practice.
Tessa has completed a Bachelor of Fine Art majoring in Interdisciplinary Sculpture from Queensland College of Art, Brisbane, and a Bachelor of Arts with majors in Writing and Media Studies from Southern Cross University, Lismore. She has exhibited work at HOTA, Home of the Arts, The Walls Art Space, and SWELL Sculpture Festival, among various other local spaces.
Image: Tessa Bergan, Love Suit, 2022, artwork detail, courtesy of the artist
