LARA DZIGGEL

Biography

Lara Dziggel is an Australian multi-disciplinary artist based in Sydney / Gadigal Land. 

At just 22 years old she has a range of experience across painting, drawing, graphic design, glasswork, and most notably: ceramics. Lara began her BFA at the National Art School in 2019, with a passion for art-making and a desire to expand her skillset. She has a range of influences spanning the likes of Phoebe Cummings, David Ray, Pipilotti Rist and Kathy Butterly. Through her time at NAS she has cultivated her own unique style which is best showcased in her major work series ‘Apothocary Jars’, a series of vessels inspired by the spirit of symbiotic relationships and processes that exist within the natural world. She says of her work;

“The harmoniousness of my free growing garden is something that brought me a lot of comfort during lockdown, the more I dug around in the earth, the more I felt like I was rekindling a friendship with an old friend. It was an incredible lesson in patience and in the importance of unconditional nurture. These jars memorialize this specific time in my life and hold the very catalyst that initiated it.”

Artist Statement

‘Björk’ and ‘Althea’ are both a part of a series of ceramic vessels I birthed to embody the spirit of symbiotic relationships that exist within our natural world.  Throughout the pitfalls of this pandemic, I felt a shift in myself and those around me; there seemed to be an increased desire for connection, self-sufficiency, and an embrace of returning back to slower living. For me, this manifested itself in the form of gardening, specifically the cultivation of medicinal plants. My garden was a great source of comfort during this time, I felt deeply inspired by the mutually nurturing interactions that occurred around me and take place in our landscape daily. The fungi that break down debris, insects that pollinate our crops and flames that clear space for new life, all echo an attitude that is seemingly becoming more prevalent as we slowly come to the realisation; our current way of living is unsustainable. These apothecary jars hold the herbs and various other dried plants that I cultivated in my garden, the very catalyst that was my muse for this series. They pay homage to the synergy of the natural world and what I hope to be, a slowly regenerating reflection of it within our own cultural matrix.