Gabby Malpas

Where are you from?

catalogue (in her own words)

9-26 October 2014

Central Park
28 Broadway, Chippendale

When did you find out your

were adopted? (youre shittin
me right?)
Watercolour, ink, gouache and
collage on canvas
$6950 110 x 140cm
________________________
It was so obvious that myself and
my sister were different growing up
that it was almost insulting when
well-meaning friends would ask:
when did you find out you were
adopted?
I want to convey the silliness of that
question but also the love behind
what made me how I am today.
The grand chinoiserie arrangement
is my chaotic but full and lavish life
I certainly havent suffered!
But look closely and there is a
Caucasian mother with a dark
baby;;; what the??!!

Cirebon Pond 2
watercolour and collage on Arches paper
Framed size: 68cm x 124cm
$3700
__________________________
The first SE Asian country I ever visited
was Indonesia in 1988. I must confess it
was a major culture shock but it did
spark an enduring fascination with the
region.
I took away these memories: the gentle
sounds of gamelan, inky black night
skies, impossibly beautiful plants such
as lotus, magical batik and Chinoiserie
patterns. The bottom border of NZ koru
motifs works in with the Chinese cloud
background of the water. 7 fish
symbolise 'togetherness'

Special fried rice and lemon

chicken

Watercolour, collage and pencil on

sewn Arches paper
Framed size: 92cm x 124cm
$4200
________________________
Having being to China many years
ago, I can honestly say I did not see
the suburban favourites offered by
any restaurants there... similarly,
Chinoiserie is a European notion,
catering to fashion and style tastes.
Nearly all of the living things in this
image can be found in Australia or
NZ: there is the NZ red admiral
butterfly, the wax eye and blue fairy
wren of Australia - the other plants
and butterflies we are familiar with
and thrive here - but they are not
from this land.

More chinoiserie - orange and

duck egg blue
watercolour and pencil on Arches
paper
Framed size: 77cm x 96cm
$2500
________________________

An unashamed celebration of
chinoiserie, Malpas style.
Camelias from Ian's tree, St Ives.
Loquat branch 'appropriated' from
St Peters.
Blue and white bowl from Vinnies.
Dragon teapot from Salvos and
artistic licence. Teacup from eBay.
Ginger jar from UK country fete.
Indonesian sarong backdrop

Pasifica
watercolour, ink and gouache on
canvas.
Size: 60.5cm x 71.5cm
$2700
________________________
I didn't realise how unique the light
is downunder until I started
travelling. As I spent more and
more time in the UK, the odd trips
home were like a flash of colour and
light - even a winter's day could be
brighter than a Uk summer.

Indochine
watercolour, gouache and pencil on
a leaf of a French land sale
agreement document dated 1849.
Antique Australian koala stamp
Framed size 35.5cm x 43.5 cm
$600
________________________
I first went to Vietnam and Laos in
2000 - I had a very hard time in
Vietnam: the locals weren't used to
solo Asian travellers at the time and
assumed I was a streetwalker so I
got hissed at a lot and abused for
my lack of Vietnamese. Other
people were very kind and just
curious.
Anyway, it is a beautiful place and
the French influence is everywhere:
the food is delicate and you can get
good coffee and bread, the women
are impossibly elegant and they
have wide, sweeping boulevards.
This image echoes those Indian and
Persian miniatures painted on old
manuscript pages.

Magnolias in the night garden

watercolour and pencil on an

antique French legal document leaf
Framed size: 35.5cm x 43.5cm
$600
__________________________

Magnolias from Rozelle, Sydney

tiger moth: google images. French
legal document from eBay.
More Chinoiserie on copper-plate
writing themed work

Marmalade
Watercolour and gouache on paper.
Framed size: 30cm x 40cm
$540
__________________________

Dad being British, was quite partial

to marmalade. I never understood
it - sweet and orange but bitter....
waaaaa?
This is a leaf from a French
document. It was dated: 19-081782 and was titled: 'Partage cl
division'. My schoolgirl french is
too rusty to provide a proper
translation but it was a legal
document - I think about property.
There is an antique NZ stamp with
a kiwi in the top left hand corner
and on the sides, I have patched
binding tears with a different
antique document

Mum
watercolour, collage and pencil on
paper
Framed size: 42cm x 50cm

$710
Begonias and geraniums from
Alexandria, Sydney. Ginger jars from
UK country fete. Teacup and saucer
from the Balgowlah antiques centre.
Malay sarong backdrop.
Old NZ postage stamp: eBay.
Mum's favourite colour was blue and
although we didn't have any ginger
jars in the house while I was growing
up, Mum did have some willow
pattern plates she used for 'best'. The
plants are the types that cuttings
would have been collected/distributed
by Mum and her circle of friends
during visiting eachother's houses for
afternoon tea sessions.
I have included a fragment of one of
her last letters to me. Mum was very
good at correspondence and I got into
the habit of writing regularly while I
was away at college in the 80s and
then wrote to mum until her death in
2011. This piece tickled me and is
quite an indicator of how Mum's mind
worked but also an insight into her
practicality: sentimental and loving
one second then brought down to
earth the next.

Dad
watercolour, pencil and gouache on
vellum, Will document of Esther Gibson
(Widow, of Cumberland, England),
dated 1800s
Framed size: 57cm x 46cm $790
___________________________
My father came from Leicester, England.
He did not have the secure, stable home
that I took for granted. He went to sea as (a
suspected underage), cabin boy as a young
teenager and was in the British Merchant
Navy in WWII. His ships took him right
around the Pacific Rim during the war and
I often think that to a young man from
working class England at that time,
travelling in the Pacific would have been
almost akin to explorers a few hundred
years before him - the completely foreign
sights he would have seen! He still wore his
navy issue sandals for many years
afterwards and quite often he would put a
knotted handkerchief on his head at the
beach to 'stir' us.
This is a gentle take on Dad - the
juxtaposition of the exotic and foreign with
the very old and traditional, English
document - the last will and testament.

Family Mart
(same same but different)
watercolour and pencil on Indian
Khadi paper
Framed size: 50cm x 62cm
$750
________________________

There is a chain of convenience

stores in Tokyo called family mart...
I have represented my family as
maneki neko cats- drawing
attention to the obvious differences.
The text are good luck slogans from
maneki neko and the pattern below
is from traditional Japanese fan
designs.
The Daruma doll is one I have on
my mantlepiece - when you get a
daruma doll, you colour in one of
the eyes and make a resolution or
plan - then, when your plan comes
to fruition, you colour in the other
eye then burn the doll.

The Mariners tale

Balinese Barong mask,
Nonya/Peranakan ceramic motifs,
NZ Koru motifs. Lombok Sasak
weaving background. Found
objects: shells, coins, stamps and
currency from travels and eBay.
Framed size: 50cm x 61 cm
$800
The very first port of call on my
grand OE in 1988 was Bali. And
yes, Poppies lane, Kuta was the
first stop. Even amongst the
tourist ghettos, street hawkers
and all night bars that was Kuta
even then, I found Bali to be a
magical, mystical place. We
travelled to Malaysia from
Sumatra by ferry where I
discovered the wealth of Chinese
influences and of course was
drawn to the beautiful
Peranakan or Nonya ware
ceramics. And yes, everyone
thought I was a local

Don't mess with the

Missionary man
watercolour, collage, pencil and
gouache on Arches paper
Framed size: 57cm x 80cm
$1950
Dyak mask (Borneo), PNG tapa cloth design and
lemboglossum orchid: google images. Sasak
weaving, cowrie shells and carved bone face:
Lombok. Old stamps, Chinese coupon, french
antique document fragments and mother of pearl
buttons: eBay. Tatted silk cross: from the artist's
mother
Masks have been made for millennia by a myriad of
cultures. They often have powerful meanings and
the wearing of them are dictated by that society's
rules and/or ceremonial demands. Christianity has
been extremely widespread in SE Asia through
missionaries and migration and some of the old
animist beliefs are dying out. Who is to say which
god is better?
I have been fascinated by SE Asian tribal culture for
years. I think a remote interest was sparked aged 4,
when my oldest sister took me to the Auckland
museum and I entered a traditional Maori meeting
house for the first time. I have perceived
similarities amongst various tribes and cultures:
ancestor worship and reverence, the use of masks
in rites and ceremonies, special objects and sacred
amulets.

Delicacy
watercolour, pencil and gouache on sewn
Indian Khadi paper
Framed size: 50cm x 62cm
$750
____________________________
Japonicas and butterflies from
Hillandale Gardens & Nursery. Tapa
cloth design adapted from PNG Tapa
cloth design, painted onto a fragment of
Antique French legal documentation
I've been identified as Asian and/or
Pacific Islander for as long as I can
remember. Some of the patterns and
motifs in both Asian and Pasifica textile
patterns seem to share the same origins
though the end result is very different.
Traditional Pacific Island art is often
categorized as primitive though the
techniques are complex and the skill level
requirement is high.
It is interesting to note that both Pacific
Tapa cloth and paper invented by the
Chinese both start from the bark of the
Mulberry tree

What you best price?

collage of 'found' objects on sewn antique
documents
Framed size: 41cm x 50cm
$650
________________________
I love trawling SE Asian markets. I couldn't believe
my eyes when I first visited them in 1988 and will
make sure just about every trip abroad includes an
opportunity to explore the local markets at my
leisure. I always go alone, try and fit in visually and
browse to my hearts content - it all goes swimmingly
until I open my mouth... but then the fun begins and
the questions start.
I have also been a beach comber for as long as I can
remember. My dad said to me once (about our time
we spent on the beach as a family (which was a lot)):
"you never spent a lot of time with us at the beach
(mum and dad) - you were always on the shoreline
sorting it out"
This is a collection of shells from Indonesia and
Australia. The lures are from Lombok and there are
a couple of 'precious' items such as branch coral, a
cameo and a pearl - all 'treasures' I had for years,
earmarked for something special.
The background documentation is a mix of old
french antique legal documents - see the date of
19/08/1782, chinese bank notes, old Australian
postcards and stamps. At the time the dated French
document was drawn up, the items displayed here
would have been considered rare and valuable - not
simply trinkets brought home from a holiday.

If hello kitty and maneki neko

were Novgorod icons
I'm going straight to hell for these:
I was raised Catholic - a crucifix
above every bed, Catholic. We had a
lot of religious images in the house
but my favourites were
reproductions of famous religious
icons: the flat layers of paint, gold,
jewel embellishments and stiff
poses.
Heroes/'gods' of another age.... just
like Hello Kitty and Maneki Neko

Maneki Neko as an icon 1

Watercolour, gouache, pencil and collage
on Arches paper
Framed size: 23cm x 28cm
$250

If Hello Kitty was a Novgorod

icon
Watercolour, poster paint, pencil,
pen and collage on Indian khadi
paper
Framed size: 23cm x 28cm
$280

Maneki Neko as an icon 2

Watercolour, gouache, pencil and
collage on Arches paper
Framed size: 23cm x 28cm
$250

Words to live by
Ten little butterfly and moth images on the following pages:

These represent lessons I am learning in life - mostly lessons about my own behaviour and
how what I say/do can impact others after years of raging against perceived injustices
against my race/background.
We've all experienced ugly episodes in our lives - but sometimes, out of that ugliness comes
delicacy and beauty.
I'm not perfect - I still upset and offend but I'm learning...

Empathy (Emperor Moth)

Watercolour and pencil on Arches paper
$300.00

Framed size: 31.5cm x 31.5cm

Hope (NZ Red Admiral Butterfly)

Watercolour and pencil on Arches paper
$280.00

Framed size: 26cm x 20cm

Kindness (Monarch Butterfly)

Watercolour and pencil on Arches paper
$300.00

Framed size: 30cm x 30cm

Love (Small Tortoiseshell Butterfly)

Watercolour and pencil on Arches paper
$280.00

Framed size: 20cm x 26cm

Diversity (Redeye Flat Butterfly)

Watercolour and pencil on Arches paper
$280.00

Framed size: 26cm x 20cm

Peace (Australian Admiral Butterfly)

Watercolour and pencil on Arches paper
$280.00

Framed size: 25cm x 25cm

Tolerance (Scarlet Jezebel Butterfly)

Watercolour and pencil on Arches paper
$280.00

Framed size: 29cm x 24cm

Respect (Orchard Swallowtail Butterfly)

Watercolour and pencil on Arches paper
$300.00

Framed size: 31.5cm x 31.5cm

Joy (Common Blue Butterfly)

Watercolour and pencil on Arches paper
$260.00

Framed size: 24cm x 24cm

Integrity (Dryandra Moth)

Watercolour and pencil on Arches paper
$280.00

Framed size: 29cm x 24cm

For all enquiries please contact:

Juliet Rosser
Director

72 OXFORD STREET DARLINGHURST 2010

PH +612 8068 81 84 M 0401 177 291

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