the poetry of object

“poetry speaks the unspoken, seeks to make the intangible tangible”

everything is transient, stitched words on paper bag, indigo eli, 2011

little love poem, indigo eli

poetic fortunes, indigo eli

indigo eli (with(in)side) out – poetic fortunes with artwork ‘records of translation’ by Devon Ward, for Kiss Club, CIA studios 2015

Poet Tree, Kings Park Spring Festival

artwork: Child Protection. Act. (detail)indigo eli 2016

artwork: leaving, photo: indigo eli

NEST Residency and Showing, indigo eli photo: indigo eli

artwork: remembering, photo: royce kurmelovs

artwork: leaving, photo: indigo eli

straw into gold, indigo eli 2021

luxury artwork detail ... pink satin purses lay on cream-white linen .. in the back right, out of focus, is a textured gold edged frame containing a drape of white thread .. two purses sit next to the frame on the left also blurred by the cameras focus .. towards the front of the shot 3 purses lay open .. their contents spilling out .. fluffy creamy-white woollen tampons with gleaming white strings

in.definite, artwork detail

the inanimate has found its voice, illuminated words, indigo eli, 2011

tin shed tea rose, indigo eli 2021

burning silence.. a full image of the work .. a hand stitched face mask and filter insert are displayed on a piece of cream linen ... on the right of the image the white filter sits further back and out of focus .. it has a paper-like cover .. at its centre are 3 red cross stitches and a loose draping thread ... to the front of frame on the left is a brightly coloured face mask resting on an angle ... the body of the mask is formed from reclaimed fabric: blue sky . green palm trees . spots of yellow . white . flying bird silhouettes in the sky .. fabric reclaimed from a Hawaiian shirt ... text has been hand embroidered to its front, vibrant red letters .. [sic] .. with some smaller, indistinguishable letters added in between ... lengths of wavy red ric rac trim are sewn to the mask’s sides to form ties, they drape down from both sides of the mask curving and looping organically as they go

a square black and white photo of indigo’s poetic tools … an assortment of objects are laid out on a dark polka dot fabric, in a deliberate design, all connected by touch ... flowing from the top left a plastic right angle french curve ruler, a fabric lint brush, a gridded A3 cutting board, a boxed set of small screwdrivers, a pair of pliers, a vintage auto toolkit tin filled with threads and snips and vintage velvet metal pin cushion and other assorted bits and bobs, a silver scalpel ... and at the bottom of the cutting mat, an indigo eli calling card. an artefact label added to the bottom of the image, black text on white reads: Poet's tool kit, circa July 2023.

letter no 13 Noted Festival Postal Project indigo eli 2016

letter no 1 Noted Postal Project indigo eli 2016

artwork: luxury, gilt framed cashmere tampon, indigo eli 2016

in.definite artwork detail .. a close up of the text in the work ... rounded black letters are printed on a softened white paper background, some letters are much larger than others .. the words read across regardless of size, but the enlarged letters create contrasting words and meaning .. in this cropped section, the words include determination, detention is enlarged from this, and ‘of his rights and obligations’ the word no or not is enlarged from this section .. the edge of the image and text blur

Black Jack, playing card poetry, Subtext exhibition, SA Writers Centre, photo: indigo eli

NEST Residency and Showing, indigo eli photo: Royce Kurmelovs

burning silence .. feature image of the charcoal filter on a piece of cream linen . the mask’s wavy red ric rac ties flow across the base of the image from left to right .. slowly blurring as they go ... the filter, sits upright in full focus .. it has a tailor made shape . rectangular . but clipped and curved at the edges . made to fit neatly within the mask .. its main body is formed from non-woven polypropylene fabric reclaimed from a wound dressing .. its sides are crimped and melted shut .. white and cream threads drape from the stitches in its sides ... its body . though white . is darkened by its filling . charcoal . black cinders from a property lost in the black summer bushfires .. the filter's main body is dressed . covered by a thin delicate protective paper sleeve .. its corners each shaped by a run of 5 cream stitches .. this paper joins and is stitched closed front and centre .. one end folds open and is held that way by three red wool symbolic stitches and a draping thread to honour the 33 people directly lost to the fires: x x x...

shadow box, indigo eli, 2013

NEST Residency and Showing, indigo eli photo: Royce Kurmelovs

letter no. 29, enveloping (the human) connection (in 36.5 letters)

numbered budgie eggs, handmade nest, indigo eli, 2013

Postal Project invitation. Can’t make it to Noted but want a piece, a sense, a souvenir? Are you feeling a little isolated – geographically or otherwise? Do you seek connective threads? Do you love snail mail, pine after pigeon post, miss the days when mailboxes were filled with personal surprises? …