Assemblages
Two-dimensional works are one way I communicate but they are not the only way. I also create assemblage sculptures. I choose mediums and techniques that are most appropriate for my visual representation of a particular idea. Many ideas for these assemblages were inspired by my Almost Angel series, Sacred Stories - Divine Forms collages, performance art and busking.

Self-Portaits In Assemblage Sculpture

Soon I Shall Be 40
Group exhibition, Utterly Art, 2006 (opening of new venue)
Assemblage sculpture - found objects and fibre optics
L43 x W36 x H122 cm
Growing up female, society constantly reminded me that there are specific dreams and desires a girl must have: white lace wedding gown, white picket fence House & Garden home, children, keeping house, tea parties...I was then 38, unwedded, childless, living in my parents' home. It made me anxious. I quelled the anxiety of not fulfilling societal dictates and tradition by creating this assemblage...and with the knowledge that I have aspirations of my own. 

​I Am The Union Of All Opposites
Assemblage sculpture - found objects and acrylic
L17 x W17 x H40 cm

An awareness and acceptance of my goodness, my badness, my pain, my joy, my mortality, my eternity; a merging of opposites to arrive at LOVE - love of self and others. ​"Do I contradict myself? Very well, then I contradict myself, I am large, I contain multitudes." -Walt Whitman
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Ni Nyoman Geri / Bidadari
Assemblage sculpture - found objects and acrylic
​L75 x W15 x H30 cm
Why two titles? This assemblage is as much a self-portrait as it is a part of the Sacred Heart Mammas and Angels series in that, it advocates making connections beyond the parochial to embrace the intertwined nature of societies. And in doing so, to reflect a more authentic, multiple, overlapping definition of ourselves.

This assemblage was born out of my love affair with Bali from 1998 to 2003. Then, I designed and commissioned beaded jewellery out of glass, coconut and wooden beads from Java and plastic beads from China, exporting them to a wholesaler in California, after which they retailed at stores like Macy's and Saks Fifth Avenue in New York. I lived by a forest - Monkey Forest and I lived by the sea off Jalan Double Six. I lived in a one-room hut and I lived in a five-star villa. I wore baju adat, the lace kebaya and batik sarong to worship in temples on Galungan, Kuningan and Ngaben, and I wore a fluorescent pink bikini, glow in the dark sarongs, a purple rayon sundress and Uluwatu lace. I kept quiet on Nyepi and I danced at seventy-two-hour full moon trance beach parties with my Thai, Indian, New Zealand, Israeli, Italian, German, French, British and American friends. I attended kecak, barong and legong dances with my Balinese friends. I studied and performed wayang kulit with a dalang. I meditated with the Brahma Kumaris and indulged the secular at Sari Beach Club and Paddy's before the bomb. I visited the dead at Trunyan on Mt Batur and joined the pilgrims at Besakih on Mt Agung. I walked barefoot through terraced padi fields, rode a motorbike. I didn't have a handphone or email address, wrote letters instead. I used the wartel to phone and fax. I ate opor nangka and singkong with sambal and kecap manis ABC in back alley and roadside ​warungs and I ate Tex-Mex with sos chili ABC at T.J.'s. I savoured nasi campur at Made's and I savoured Italian at La Lucciola. I schmoozed at Jimbaran and I slummed it at Dreamland. I delighted in Bulan Purnama and each sunrise and sunset. I aerobicised in a gym and jogged through villages where I was always almost mauled by dogs. I got cheated by moneychangers and taxi drivers. I befriended corrupt police and airport officials. I felt at home, I felt homesick. I snorkelled underwater, climbed volcanic peaks. I shaved my legs; I let my underarm hair grow. I showered in ice cold waterfalls. I sunbathed nude in warm seas. I'll never return. I'll return someday... Matur suk semuh Bali- kangen sekali.
Sacred Heart Mammas And Angels
Assemblage sculpture - found objects and acrylic
Picture
I used to mourn the fact that, being a Singapore-born Eurasian, I did not belong to just one ethnicity and did not have a specific culture and customs to call my own. I didn't even have an ethnic dress to wear on Racial Harmony Day. Constantly being mistaken as a foreigner by my fellow Singaporeans while categorised as 'Others' in my own homeland Identity Card compounded my dilemma. I was neither Asian enough nor European enough. I felt I belonged nowhere. However, in these recent years, mostly as the result of my travels and research, I have come to realise that claims of exclusivity are misguided; we are all the result of diasporic peoples and hybrid influences. I pay homage to this liberating awareness by celebrating the similarities and appreciating the differences that I have observed, especially in Asia. It has helped me to embrace my plural, diverse and complex self. I now know that I belong everywhere as part of a greater community - humanity. And so, essentially, my assemblages welcome the viewer to have an interesting dialogue with various cultures simultaneously, stretching the logic of identity beyond a homogenised narrative to rejoice in inclusion. With the number of displaced people and disrupted lives on the rise, it is crucial to remember the incredible fabric that is our shared heritage and legacy.
Sacred Heart Mamma (I)
​L45 x W45 x H60 cm
I come from a country that is "mongrelised, polyglot,...like heaven." - Derek Walcott

This work is reminiscent of worship, ritual and procession in Asia. It utilises the seamless interweaving of eclectic imagery appropriated from various regional religions, namely: Hinduism, Buddhism, Islam and Christianity. It is a borrowing and learning from one another's religions, employing carefully selected symbols familiar to all in the region. The images spill one into another echoing hybrid influences. As with the two following assemblages, it is a means to encourage reflection and discourse on our commonality in diversity. Look closely and you will see Muslim and Christian women in prayer - a subtle reminder that we are all humbled in prayer before divinity and equally vulnerable. 

I use a female human form for all three assemblages. This represents the fact that a sense of self is not merely geographical. It exists in the hearts and minds of people. ​And it is the human, the real subject matter, who is 
imbued with agency and notions of self. Humans make up societies; we are the actors and agents of religio-cultural activities. Why female? The assemblages are also a self-portrait - my constant questioning of my sense of belonging within my community, the region...the world. Why 'Mamma'? Mothers nurture, mothers protect just like my motherland, Asia...the Earth.

I employed gold-leafing technique on the snakes to acknowledge the extensive use of gold-leaf in houses of worship in this region and beyond, as well as to lend a sacredness to the snakes, making them look somewhat like dragons - another common image in the region and across the globe.

​Sacred Heart Mamma (II)
L50 x W40 x H80 cm
Here, I explore traditional beliefs and animism, remembering that we are a mystical people, a ritualistic people steeped in superstition which we infuse into our religious and daily practices. Trees are revered as sacred across Asian cultures and in many places throughout the world. In addition, while styling the branches, I made a conscious effort to honour the aesthetics of Bonsai. The apple hanging from a branch alludes to Christianity which, through colonisation, missionaries, trade and intermarriage, spread to indigenous cultures. Also a symbol of knowledge, the apple reminds us to broaden our mind and be open to our complex identities. The snake resting upon a branch is a venerated protector in some cultures but is demonised in others - just one more symbol that displays our diversity and plurality. When I was in Kerala one Christmas, I saw snake and crocodile figurines incorporated into the Nativity scene; the snake was shielding baby Jesus in his crib, not unlike the images of nagas/serpents protecting Hindu deities and Buddha.

​Angel / Krungthep
L25 x W18 x H60 cm
Inspired by architecture, this assemblage resembles mosaic decoration on royal and sacred structures. It also recalls the use of mandalas, rangolis and kolams.

I resist the urge to explain all the symbols I have used because doing so would impoverish the experience of the viewer. But I would like to explain the use of the parasol which is common to all three assemblages. The parasol appears across Asia. It does not belong to just one Asian country. It represents protection and ascendence. It soars upwards like a shikhara, a gopura, a chedi, a stupa, a pagoda, a steeple, a minaret... It suggests the human aspiration to be better, to be enlightened, and in this context, to transcend difference and commit to our common humanity.

Future Sacred Heart Mamma and Angel assemblages will most likely reflect my European heritage as I intend to further explore my Scottish and Austrian ancestry.
Copyright 2016 Geraldine Schubert