a rather gross materialism

As Linden Gallery’s writer-in-residence, Dr Lucinda Strahan (aka expanded Non/FICTION expert, writer, researcher, lecturer) harnessed the radical energy, DIY ethos and countercultural spirit of punk and feminism for her exhibition “a rather gross materialism”. Through a playful process she calls “poetic erasure” she reinterpreted source text from the colonial record The Webbs’ Australian Diary 1898 using collage and text pairing to remake, reimagine and subvert the subjectivities and cultural narratives of the diary. Strahan then compiled a suite of xeroxed posters that extended beyond the gallery walls and were pasted up and appeared outdoors on billboards scattered around St Kilda.

As she explains:

“I was first drawn to the voice of Beatrice Webb when she was quoted in another historical text, saying of the “well-to-do women” of Australia: “certainly these colonial women are in an unpleasant stage of development…vapid in talk without public spirit or intellectual sympathies” they were “uncommonly inferior to the men” and “the least worthy product of Australia”. The weird misogyny of this statement felt familiar and historically true, and its absurd almost Wildean turn of phrase made me laugh out loud. I immediately started searching for the source text.

Beatrice and Sidney Webb were well-known British public intellectuals. They were socialists and labour reformers; affluent leftists who co-founded the London School of Economics. The Webbs took great interest in the colonial “experiment”, and during their journey to Australia in 1898, met and spoke with almost all the leading political and social figures of the time. The Webbs’ Australian Diary 1898 is their travel journal, published posthumously in the 1950s.

The diary is, as I had hoped, a gold mine of found-words. Beatrice Webb’s impressions of Australian society, its ruling class, its political leaders and industrial barons, are expressed in anachronistic language that frequently tips into camp. But her expertise as a sociologist and political scientist means that even her blatant bad-moodism carries historical weight.

As it turns out, it was not just the wealthy colonial women who gave Beatrice Webb the shits during her visit. Almost everything else did too. As I worked with the text of the diary, I found myself identifying with her cranky observations about the “rather gross” materialism of the emerging society—exceedingly rich and anti-intellectual, gorging on mining, led by dull men. Her frequent “relapse into irritability” reminded me of my own despairing moments over the contemporary social and political climate. In this way I began to identify with Beatrice Webb’s voice, and her straight-talking insults even as I disagreed with her views on women, on race and her obvious acceptance of the colony as ‘terra nullius’.”

I was lucky enough to document Lucinda (and her spunky chihuahua Gina) in the early days of the project as she cut and compiled the collages and once again a little further down the track when the paste ups appeared in the local neighbourhood.

distance and memory

We braved the weather at Two Sixty for Leitu Bonnici’s installation of a series of posters as a part of her ongoing project “Afa’afakasi”.

The posters are from a free online publication called Lomiga Tasi: Folasaga Lona Lua which Leitu made for Samoan Language Week. It is a basic introduction to the Samoan language and culture that playfully explores distance and memory through collaboration and digital filters.

Ollie from Testing Grounds was also there to move things along as the rain poured down and although the skies were drab our spirits were high as they brushed and pasted the beautiful posters around the site.

I’ve included a few more pics than I normally would in a blog post just to give you an idea of the various angles covered over the course of my documentation. There were also many more extra pics in the series I submitted to Leitu. Documentation is really valuable for a project like this as it is an unfolding and fleeting work that would be difficult to communicate after the fact. These images will be useful to Leitu in the future if she wishes to apply for grants or communicate how the work sat within the site. Without them, she might only have the graphics files of the actual posters and some quick snaps from her phone to show which may limit others’ perceptions of the project.

river banners

Documenting Sarah Tomasetti’s river banners for the Birrarung: On The River exhibition at Chapman and Bailey. The exhibition featured a mix of professional artists and the wider community of Birrarung devotees in response to living and working on the river. Sarah invited me to photograph the de-install which was a wonderful way to clock the movement and texture of the pieces.

“Breaststroke is perfect for wild-water swimming. With eyes at water level, it allows me to take everything in. I look up to the Native Golden Wattles and Yarra gums growing impossibly out of the rocky cliffs on the other side of the river. Bobbing across the water’s surface are thousands of golden sweet-smelling flower heads from the wattles. It’s like a starry, starry night-sky. A pair of Snow Geese are spotted in the distance gathering insects in the reeds, while a raft of Pacific black-ducks glide by and attempt to herd us into shore.”

Carolyn Tate

council st life drawing

I photographed this still life drop-in session hosted by Council St Life Drawing as part of Testing Grounds Summer Emporium. Zoe from Council St set up an incredibly long table of gloriousness, a healthy supply of art supplies and an invitation to any passers-by to join in a FREE drawing session.

Keeping in mind food waste (an ongoing concern for Zoe) she curated the scene using food that was either being thrown out, squashed, brown or heavily discounted on its last legs. I loved the slow meandering in the way people joined in, let themselves yield to the process and participate in some great discussion.

In Zoe’s words, it was “…an ode to summer nights; sharing meals with friends outside and enjoying the last of the seasonal produce, lazily playing cards, reading books and happily slurping the last drops of a shared wine. There were so many great conversations over the course of the day about how we interact with food and how in turn this connects us to our bodies, all the way from market visits to just eating toast in friend’s kitchens. This still-life scene is about my love of hosting, sharing food, eating and making food, and of course - art. It’s as always just about putting your pen to the page and letting go of expectations, knowing that like all these veggies - being wonky and a lil weird looking - is always more interesting (that goes for both ya body and your drawings).”

composting... (full title truncated)

I documented Emily Simek’s VCA Master of Contemporary Art Graduation Exhibition - “Composting… (full title truncated).

In Emily’s words:

“Composting (full title truncated) is a body of work co-created with a worm-farm compost system. In this practice, digital technologies intra-act within nutrient cycles at the site of the compost heap. Worms ingest organic waste to form piles of soft humus. A contact microphone transcribes the workings of the worms into a textural soundscape. Microscopic footage of compost materials trace decomposition through the slippage of pixels in a video projection. The skins of vegetables are reconstituted as digital renders that blossom into fragrant soft sculptures. These are all processes in the cross-pollination of matter in a techno-compost system. Together they explore the potentialities of closed-loop systems in permaculture design for art-making practices.”

blackboard!

I was privileged to document Michelle Destefano VCA Contemporary Art Graduation Exhibition - “Blackboard!”

In Michelle’s words:

“Blackboard! evolved from a series of performances that used my story of being a Deaf person who has experienced a form of oppression called ‘audism’ and forced ‘oralism’. Audism is the attitude of people who want Deaf people to speak and not use sign, or who ignore Deaf people’s communication needs. This installation work is informed by ongoing issues for the Deaf community, despite Auslan being our true and most accepted language. Blackboard! discusses the ‘Tickle Talker’, an electrical-shock device forced onto me from 1988 to 1991, to ‘help me learn to ‘hear’ through shocks to my fingers. This work advocates for decolonisation of the Deaf community through increased awareness of Deaf issues around access, audism and displacement of the Deaf community.”

where the water gathers

Where the Water Gathers is a series of actions that took place along the hidden creek bed of Billy Button Creek in Footscray.

Artist Deb Bain King circled each low-lying place, thanking the creek for the gift of water. In this performance-based work, Deb walked the lost BIlly Button Creek chanting words of sorrow for the damage done and thanking the creek for the gift of water. I was honoured to be the one to document this reverent act and contribute to the communication of Deb’s intentions. Deb’s walking art practice recognises our shame and thankfulness, recognises beauty, violence and destruction enacted. This land was Marin Balluk and Yallukit Willam country. Land never ceded.