Glenn Clarke
Glenn Clarke is an Australian artist born in 1954 in Traralgon, Victoria. His multidisciplinary practice spans painting, collage, and sculpture, often exploring themes of war, displacement, and memory. Clarke gained national recognition after winning the 2006 National Sculpture Prize for his work American Crater Near Hanoi #2 . His intricate collages and installations frequently incorporate folded currency and military imagery, reflecting on the economic and human costs of conflict . Clarke’s works are held in major collections, including the Australian War Memorial and the National Gallery of Australia. He has also collaborated with humanitarian organizations like Project RENEW and MAG in Southeast Asia, contributing to mine risk education and unexploded ordnance clearance efforts .
“The phrase "Space Is Nothing But Emptiness-Emptiness Is Nothing But Space" is a Buddhist concept from the Heart Sutra, meaning that physical space is a precondition for things to exist (form), and that emptiness isn't a void but rather the potential for all phenomena (emptiness). It suggests that physical matter (form) lacks independent existence and that its perceived reality is dependent on the empty space it occupies. Emptiness isn't a blank, lifeless void, but a dynamic, potential-filled "space" for everything to arise
and occur within.
The Mandala-like aesthetic of ‘Oneness’ (as a Universal Whole) aims at
more contemplative mood with simple materials of origami folded currencies.
The use of world currencies echoes and ripples reverberations of numerous cultures that determine and contribute to our unique Australian diversity and resilience.
The word Mandala means "circle". The Mandala represents wholeness, a cosmic diagram reminding us of our relation to infinity, extending beyond and within our bodies and minds.
In Zen Buddhism, an ensō (円相 , "circle" ) is a circle that is hand-drawn in one uninhibited brushstroke to express a moment when the mind is free to let the body create. The ensō symbolizes absolute enlightenment, strength, elegance, the universe, and mu (the void). “
‘Oneness’ 101cmH x 100cmW x 40cmD Plinth included 205cmH x 100cmW x 40cmD Iraqi, Cambodian, Indonesian, Afghan, US, Laos, Vietnam, China bank notes, cotton thread aluminium and acrylic. $37,000
‘Oneness’ 101cmH x 100cmW x 40cmD Plinth included 205cmH x 100cmW x 40cmD Iraqi, Cambodian, Indonesian, Afghan, US, Laos, Vietnam, China bank notes, cotton thread aluminium and acrylic. $37,000
‘Lavender Mist’ 80cmH x 80cmW x 5cmD. Chinese Yuan, plastic film, cotton thread on paper. $12,200
‘Bodhisattva, Won’t You Take Me By The Hand’ 80cmH x 80cmW x 5cmD. Vietnam Dong, Iraqi Dinar, Cambodian Riel, cut paper, cotton thread on paper. $12,200
‘Opal’ 80cmH x 80cmW x 5cmD. Chinese RMB Yuan, Laos Kip, Iraqi Dinar, Afghanistan Afghani, US $, cut paper, cotton thread on paper. $12,200
‘Samsara’ 80cmH x 80cmW x 5cmD. Cut paper, cotton thread on paper. $12,200