Taxonomy of Cracks, 2023

Phd Completion Viewing
RMIT University, Melbourne



A Taxonomy of Cracks, 2018-2023

This work comprises surfaces made over the course of the doctoral project, edges left over from sections selected for works, failed paintings hung back to front, and fragments still waiting to be incorporated.  It is a catalogue of the patterning that occurs through the movement of moisture; evaporation away from the surface and absorption into the wall.  It is also a catalogue of compression, the pressure of the hand applying render to the wall which produces a more or less densely packed intonaco.  Coloured sections indicate the addition of pigment which also alters the kind of fractal patterning produced.

The way the cracking is both revealed and protected occurs through the use of encaustic medium made of beeswax and damar resin, heated and brushed onto the surface.  Where fissures have opened up in the skins whilst curing, the wax soaks in, appearing on the back bringing traces of colour from the front.

– Sarah Tomasetti, 2023