Bobby Corica: Artist Statement & Bio

I began making this body of work while thinking about entropy. Entropy, in this case, refers to the lack of order or predictability of something. The entropy of something is increasing over time; perfect order descending into something chaotic and unruly. This is a basic idea of entropy, however, I believe it captures my work perfectly.

I have always remarked that my work often comes from a place of inner chaos, channelled through highly repetitive and traditional gold & silversmithing techniques. Chainmaking and fabrication is my favourite part of creating. For me, creating isn’t something I think about; initially, there is no real ‘design process’. It is about intuition and responding. Making chain is a highly ordered process, however, there are moments where chaos can influence this. I can add too much heat and cause sections to fuse to each other, or I can take a hammer and beat sections into new shapes. It is making an ordered system through a chaotic and disordered practice that I am truly interested in.

I think my work has always been a showcase of order and disorder, and how they can both exist simultaneously. Not so much a struggle for dominance, but more of a delicate balance; a display of dynamic interplay, in that one always affects the other. This body of work in particular is a love letter to my own chaos and my deep appreciation for it, in all its varied orders.

Bobby Corica, born in Naarm/ Melbourne 1994, works from his Brunswick studio in Naarm / Melbourne.

Drawing from his Italo-Australian heritage and a background in biochemistry and molecular biology, Bobby embarked on his silversmithing journey in 2019, honing his craft in the art of chain making. Guided by his interest in “chaos”, Bobby's process is best described as "intuitive," as he delicately responds to the qualities and limitations of materials such as silver, gold and glass.

The culmination of Bobby’s intuitive practice manifests in highly textured and truly one-of-a-kind pieces that carry a distinctive allure.

Bobby recently completed a year-long research Fellowship awarded to him by the Italian Australian Foundation and the International Specialised Skills Institute, which saw him travel to Italy in order to research traditional Italian crafts such as flameworking and leatherworking.

In 2022, The National Gallery of Victoria commissioned Bobby for the 2022/2023  Alexander McQueen: Mind, Mythos, Muse summer show.

His work has been exhibited as part of NGV Design Week, Oigall Projects, Jam Factory and Craft Victoria.