Image: Raquel ORMELLA Wealth for toil #1 (installation view) 2014, nylon, acrylic and glitter on hessian. QUT Art Collection. Purchased 2017.
The work is nylon, acrylic and glitter on hessian and measures 2.5 metres tall by 2.5 metres wide. The work hangs like a tapestry against the wall.
Working from the top left to the top right this section of the artwork remains intact and resembles a flag rendered in golden, glittery material. When working down towards the centre of the work the artwork begins to fray and disintegrate – with strips of the flag cascading down in ribbons and other included material, like hessian, pulled apart and discarded suggesting the aftermath of a forgotten celebration.
In the far top left-hand corner is a depiction of the Union Jack but woven in grassy green gold, with tinsel, ribbon, and fabric. In the top right corner are three seven-pointed stars together with a smaller five-pointed star appearing on the far right. The two smaller stars on the far right are gold whilst the two stars on the left and towards the middle are both green and gold.
Working down the far-left hand side a bundle of streamers in green and gold ribbon, like a forgotten pom pom, hangs from the side of the work. The top half of the deconstructed flag contains the word 'golden' and beneath it is displayed the word 'promises'. Dangling loosely by a few threads from the bottom of the letter R is the largest of the seven-pointed stars. Textured in a carpeted gold this star represents the Commonwealth star found on the Australian flag, the star’s seven points symbolising the 6 Australian states, with the seventh point added to recognise Australia’s territories.
Taking its title from the line, 'wealth for toil', from the Australian national anthem, Ormella’s Australian flag has been altered to include the text ‘golden promises’ whilst the deterioration of the flag and these words result in a metaphor for broken promises and a country struggling with its own nationhood.
Raquel Ormella’s work investigates how art can encourage political consciousness and social action in relation to questions of national identity, domestic affairs, and the environment. She leads the viewer to become implicated in and challenged by her work; a notion which ultimately aligns with broader social concerns that underscore her practice. In Wealth for toil #1 by manipulating the representation of the Australian flag, Ormella references flag desecration as an act of political activism and in turn challenges the nation’s sense of identity, Australian politics and beliefs.