Patterson has worked closely with basalt stone, exploring the migratory experience of this heavy, ancient and particular material. There are two nineteenth century millstones in the collection of the Powerhouse Museum. The millstones were used to ground flour at a mill owned by the settler Thomas West. The stones are made from basalt and, according to investigations by archaeologists James Flexner and Nicola Simpson at Patterson’s request, were likely transported here via sea from Germany’s Eifel district. This print features the bivariate plotting that demonstrates geological evidence for this claim. These works on paper visualise the millstones through their component trace elements, like yttrium and strontium, as a spray of coloured dots – another form of redistribution. Patterson exhibitied these prints together with the millstones that inspired them in 2023.
