Thinking about nomads

Siying Zhou, Darwin, 2012

Nomad: a member of a people that travels from place to place to find fresh pasture for its animals and has no permanent home. (Oxford English Dictionary)

To consider the subject of nomad seems an invitation to query who we are. Nomads can be any nationality, any age, any race and work in any area of society, thus projecting a sense of equality. What can we gain from understanding the life of a nomad? Taking three common activities--packing, preparing and praying--as entrance points, the work of three nomadic artists are offered for contemplation and dialogue.

1. Packing:

The action of packing transfers objects into containers of varying forms, ready to move to the next destination. When the material, size and functionality of the containers have all been considered, this luggage can reveal an economic status, social position, a particular attitude towards life and cultural background.

In Cooper’s work Luggage Limit, four bags made of blue and white striped plastic sheeting are shaped into disfigured human bodies; a different limb is missing from each body bag. Sealed by zips, the bags are hollow and filled with air. The work speaks of the movement of vulnerable people. Aspects of migration are exposed: what you can take with you as an immigrant or refugee, whether physical, cultural or psychological, is limited and incomplete.

2. Preparing:

In the process of packing and moving, the complexity of life is summarised and realised as masses of objects. Every object from the past is revisited, evaluated and selected. It is a process of making decisions and judgment. Some objects survive the reshuffle, others are left behind.

West’s sculpture So Far poses many questions about this selection process. Should we keep everything? Should we be loyal to objects? Turning a tablecloth from Paris and her wedding dress from Yogyakarta into an organic shaped artwork, West injects the objects with fresh memories at this new stage of life. Through the meditative process of cutting and sewing, West psychologically moves on and considers her current situation as ‘so far away, yet so far so good’.

3. Praying:

The movement of people and prayer can offer the world a view of ritual culture, a discovery of the unseen or unknown. The wish for wealth and happiness flows along all stops visited, and a package of spiritual beliefs comes along for the ride. Temples of differing religions are built to provide a home in the search for a peaceful mind, connecting the past and future, refilling strength and obtaining a sense of security.

In Temple Export, Zhou builds a mobile prayer room that consists of a wood crate with bicycle wheels. It can be taken apart and folded flat for easy transportation. Simulating the function of a temple, the crate is decorated with the image of Ma Zhu, a goddess with the power to control the ocean and to whom Chinese sailors pray before taking a long journey. The work tends to address nonstop religious practice by the nomads and directs visitors to stop for a moment and pray. Zhou intends to draw out positive energy and hope for a better life and prosperous future from this ceremony.

Under imposed or voluntary travel, nomads are drawn together by the force of continental drift, political boundaries, obligations and sometimes by love or hate. Journeys are not only mechanical and physical, but are to be considered as emotional and organic. Lives can significantly shift when new destinations are reached. Cooper, West and Zhou are invariably connected through their nomadic journeys and stories.

List of Works

Simon Cooper, Luggage Limit, 2010, plastic.

Hayley West, So Far, 2012, fabric, cotton.
Siying Zhou, Temple Export, 2012, mixed media.