Kerry Martin – A Mouth Full of Tears: Employing a Reparative Aesthetic in the Art of Inquiry

Abstract  Analysing the feedback from the speaker’s major PhD exhibition, and looking at three recent Royal Commissions, this presentation focuses on key themes emerging from these large truth-telling/witnessing exercises. It explores ongoing research into art making centred on issues of social injustice examined in commissions of inquiry, and asks whether art, using a specific aesthetic approach can be an effective entry point into the issues being examined and an ongoing platform for action or conversation.  Bio  Kerry is a visual artist and researcher, and this year’s recipient of the Donald Horne Creative and Cultural Fellowship at the University of Canberra’s Centre for Creative and Cultural Research. Her research explores how art can act as a platform or catalyst for the continuation of conversations about some of our country’s most shameful social histories.  Acknowledgements  This research is funded by the CCCR Donald Horne Research Fellowship and the PhD was funded by RTP Stipend.  This presentation was accompanied by slides. To view the slides head to KerryMartin_Presentation.pptx