Jennifer Mills

Jennifer Mills
Australian, born 1966; lives and works in Naarm/Melbourne

Merle and Ted's stuff 2022
watercolour on paper
Courtesy of the artist and Darren Knight Gallery, Warrane/Sydney

Artist statement:

Following the death of my elderly neighbours, Merle and Ted, the contents of their home were offered up to passers-by a sign that read: “FREE FURNITURE. Help Yourself! FREE!”. Wardrobes, tables, chairs, appliances and bric-a-brac covered the lawn, driveway and porch. Slowly, over the next week, the items thinned. I walked past several times before taking a couple of small glass objects. Most of the furniture remained untouched. Functional, but unfashionable, large and heavy, it was eventually piled into a large skip and removed.

A young family lives in Merle and Ted’s house now. They removed the lava rock garden borders, unruly ferns and violets. They kept the decorative 1960s cast iron house number with the sombrero hatted fellow siesta-ing under a palm tree.