![Reticello, blown glass by Peter Bowles. City of Hobart Art Prize](https://format.creatorcdn.com/314db464-bf4f-4fd1-ad5a-6064b7db1f4e/0/0/0/0,0,1600,1203,1600,1200/0-0-0/f49ab7db-c086-435a-bcaf-535ad4348ee3/1/1/City_of_Hobart_2014.jpg?fjkss=exp=2037477252~hmac=3a3bb50e15d461dcd591568ab72cb78b741afdfdb708ada59ed05396bffe9c55)
WTF?
There is a compelling absurdity about this series of work. Somewhat irreverently titled, WTF’s are at once a celebration and a resignation to Peter’s practice as a glass artist. Complex, provocative, indulgent and audacious – what’s not to love?
Surprisingly, a selected entry for the City of Hobart Art Prize, Tasmanian Museum and Art Gallery.
Unsurprisingly, not a selected entry for the Tom Malone Prize, Art Gallery of Western Australia.
"Almost all my work starts with some odd, random experimentation – a period of research and exploration with no defined outcomes or intentions. It’s part of the enjoyment, part of the frustration and essentially it’s a critical part of the process. My natural inclination is to try to resolve and refine this experimentation – to contain it, to encapsulate it and rein it in.
WTFs are partly a reaction to this familiar way of working. They are a deliberate indulgence in staying out there in the mess and craziness of a creative process. There’s an energy about being out there that I find compelling and that I think finds its way through to the work.
It’s all part of getting to be comfortable with being uncomfortable again. I like to think of it as an expression of a mid-career crisis. A personal memo to myself to not take my career too seriously, and to keep an energy of curiosity and exploration at the heart of my practice."
PB
![Reticello, blown glass by Peter Bowles. City of Hobart Art Prize](https://format.creatorcdn.com/314db464-bf4f-4fd1-ad5a-6064b7db1f4e/0/0/0/0,0,1600,1066,1600,1200/0-0-0/e063f047-1c84-4e9a-b197-4dc8932fc418/1/1/wtf_reticello_detail4.jpg?fjkss=exp=2037477252~hmac=0010859f3c5020f04e3134555d9abc337ba6a27a36de0fbfd06ba3e86b39ad09)
![Reticello, blown glass by Peter Bowles. City of Hobart Art Prize](https://format.creatorcdn.com/314db464-bf4f-4fd1-ad5a-6064b7db1f4e/0/0/0/0,0,1600,1067,1600,1200/0-0-0/c595bc86-9371-4b8f-9ed2-edafccce1790/1/1/wtf_reticello_detail.jpg?fjkss=exp=2037477252~hmac=6538983586620b2db93edb4bbcbefc8872949a208e64134fafeb4f88820cbdb1)
![Air twist](https://format.creatorcdn.com/314db464-bf4f-4fd1-ad5a-6064b7db1f4e/0/0/0/0,0,1066,1600,1600,1600/0-0-0/a3fcce2a-7ed5-4531-ad2b-1038efd46ae2/1/1/wtf_reticello_detail3.jpg?fjkss=exp=2037477252~hmac=a7e9d178372dbbb510a781c42e79339c879f8a769cf162993648b010b8442a41)
![](https://format.creatorcdn.com/314db464-bf4f-4fd1-ad5a-6064b7db1f4e/0/0/0/0,0,1066,1600,1600,1600/0-0-0/b2b64f28-5bb6-4dc9-8b85-7492a17261c0/1/1/wtf_reticello_detail2.jpg?fjkss=exp=2037477252~hmac=a7e9d178372dbbb510a781c42e79339c879f8a769cf162993648b010b8442a41)
![](https://format.creatorcdn.com/314db464-bf4f-4fd1-ad5a-6064b7db1f4e/0/0/0/0,0,1066,1600,1600,1600/0-0-0/2c3f11b5-4162-406c-8e6c-97d20ae9c527/1/1/wtf_reticello_detail5.jpg?fjkss=exp=2037477252~hmac=a7e9d178372dbbb510a781c42e79339c879f8a769cf162993648b010b8442a41)
![](https://format.creatorcdn.com/314db464-bf4f-4fd1-ad5a-6064b7db1f4e/0/0/0/0,0,1066,1600,1600,1600/0-0-0/f0419104-166c-4643-a1d8-9b340cf0a4be/1/1/WTF_Latticino_detail2.jpg?fjkss=exp=2037477252~hmac=a7e9d178372dbbb510a781c42e79339c879f8a769cf162993648b010b8442a41)
![](https://format.creatorcdn.com/314db464-bf4f-4fd1-ad5a-6064b7db1f4e/0/0/0/0,0,1600,1553,1600,1200/0-0-0/33becf28-382a-4188-8aec-be8359a2e68e/1/1/WTF_Latticino_Gold_JPG.jpg?fjkss=exp=2037477252~hmac=9dd71a0c63219902ab8c56b7e980e553cc7cce1be4c3f2f8ca1587136b47f8be)
![](https://format.creatorcdn.com/314db464-bf4f-4fd1-ad5a-6064b7db1f4e/0/0/0/0,0,1600,1066,1600,1200/0-0-0/7d7319d1-03d6-49af-a06f-9cca47bce650/1/1/WTF_Latticino_detail.jpg?fjkss=exp=2037477252~hmac=0010859f3c5020f04e3134555d9abc337ba6a27a36de0fbfd06ba3e86b39ad09)
![](https://format.creatorcdn.com/314db464-bf4f-4fd1-ad5a-6064b7db1f4e/0/0/0/0,0,2924,2575,2924,1200/0-0-0/335cd643-9301-4dde-b990-6fdac0ab7e88/1/1/Bowles_Peter_WTF_Number_3_JPG.jpg?fjkss=exp=2037477252~hmac=a095456329e278349a02a2f9a54f14efb7d6379b93cb122f92ece7d40675940a)
![](https://format.creatorcdn.com/314db464-bf4f-4fd1-ad5a-6064b7db1f4e/0/0/0/0,0,640,610,640,1200/0-0-0/ac39e026-fb2b-4ff1-90ae-13ccea1be7f4/1/1/01_wtf_with_murrine_JPG.jpg?fjkss=exp=2037477252~hmac=ebdc8fd8b30b0eb9dd8afaa70b54f8818de58ec6d8823256a97a2fb49f6775f3)