Our Shipping Reporter is a stirrer, especially of unusual souvenir teaspoons, some off long gone passenger ships . This blog recently ran a post about his major discovery in a Townsville market of a battered teaspoon , above, which featured former Australian Prime Minister , Harold Holt , who disappeared while swimming off Cheviot Beach, Victoria , in 1967, a memorial service for him attended by world leaders.
McDonald is described as an artist whose 20-year practice resolves around the intersection of sculpture ,consumer culture and environmental awareness ,ranging from microscopic jewellery to monumental sculptures .
Continuing, it says she is motivated by the evolving significance of objects as they traverse through time and ownership , and is fascinated by the historical function of items , particularly in imagining how their previous owners may have used the objects and the stories they carry .
Stirring Histories is a site specific and kinetic artwork taking audiences on a journey through layered narratives of North Queensland's sugar cane industry, through recognisable and kitsch implements that serve as a conduit to history, the commemoratve spoon .
It interrogates the essence of colonial exploration and reflects on Australiana , where remnants of a bygone era that once commemorated and paid homage , now overflow , found in op shops and scrapmetal heaps.