Ten Days on the Island

Puso, meaning ‘heart’, is a Filipino dish made from rice wrapped in a woven palm leaf pouch and boiled.

Ritchie Ares Doña explores his cultural heritage through a contemporary interpretation of puso. Ritchie uses his knowledge of traditional weaving techniques to transform recycled plastic milk bottles into a variety of intricate sculptural forms. Puso is the culmination of Ritchie’s 2010 participation in the Artist-in-Residence Program (AIR), a joint arts@work and Australia Council initiative, which pairs professional artists with Tasmanian high schools. In 2010 Ritchie spent twenty-eight days as the Artist-in-Residence at Ulverstone High School developing this installation in collaboration with students.

Here are some images of Ritchie working with the students.

        
    

    
 

Artist: Ritchie Ares Dona assisted by Ulverstone High School students