Plate 42

(29) Simone Alesich – The people of the yeti

About this Artwork
PRICE $230 AUD


This artwork was informed by my travel to north west Nepal in 2018, and by a caption in the encyclopedia page provided, that reads “the TIbetans, in whose country the mountain stands, are dreadfully afraid of their own hills.”

In fact, sherpas from Eastern Tibet seem at remarkable ease in their mountains and at high altitudes. The legend of the yeti is popular with Tibetans in Nepal. The denisovan hominin, first discovered in 2010 in Siberia, potentially explains the yeti myth (a larger, hairier version of a human) and also gives sherpas the gene that allows them to thrive at high altitudes. A yeti-like creature, the rock-ogress, is also an important part of the creation myth of the Tibetan people.

This artwork is inspired by the soaring view of Mount Everest, as well as the intrepid spirit of the Tibetans at home in their mountains. The artwork also pays homage to traditional maps which depict the people of a land along with its geography. In COVID times, the pleats of the artwork reflect the cloth face masks that are worn by many of us .

About Simone

Simone Alesich is a mixed media artist and jeweller. She works in a range of textiles, wood and botanic sculpture, photography and collage, using various natural and found materials. Her jewellery designs incorporate silver and other metals with organic and Australian native plant motifs, as well as bright and playful designs in recycled plastics and polymer clay.

Simone is passionate about sustainability, and inspired by natural forms as well as Japanese aesthetics. With a background in anthropology, her artworks are informed by the diverse art and cultural practices of the places where she has lived and travelled.

Simone has led several community art projects in Brunswick, including a Lent Project and an Advent Project in 2016, and the ‘What is Creativity’ Exhibition in 2017. She was a participant in the Brunswick Studio Walk in 2018. Simone was a project space artist at NorthCity4 in 2018-19. She is currently part of the Pink Ember art community.

Link to Simone’s Art Aviso profile HERE

Simone was provided with the following page from Newnes’ Pictorial Knowledge Encyclopedia:

Volume 2
True tales of high adventure.
The highest point in the world.