Hunter I Art Tourist Exhibition Newcastle Australia
February 13 - March 7, 2004
An invitation to participate in Hunter I Art Tourist 2004 (curated byMerryn Gates), as the University of Newcastle international artist in residence provided an opportunity for the production and exhibition of five projects that were exhibited in the School of Fine Arts Gallery from February 13 – March 7, 2004.
Diddly Squat 2:
30 Hours of Community Service inNewcastle, Australia. This performance was undertaken over a 30 hour period in the streets, parks and on the beaches of Newcastle by the artist with the assistance of Cressida Goddard and Vicki Sienczuk. The collection of garbage (animal, vegetable and mineral) from these sites was exhibited in nine clear containers for the duration of the exhibition.
Novel Exchange (in collaboration with Australian artistAnne Graham). Advertisements were placed in the local media (newspapers and radio) announcing a “novel exchange” that took place in the Gallery of the Newcastle University School of Fine Arts and the Newcastle Regional Art Gallery. The “top 100 novels from the past 100 years” a very gendered, American and Euro-centric collection was arranged on a long book shelf attached to the gallery wall. Adjacent to the shelf was coffee table upon which were placed a tea service and biscuits provided for individuals who brought their novels to exchange with those they chose to replace from the collection. The space also provided visitors with a comfortable arm chair in which to relax and read among some tropical plants and in the company of two Australian budgerigars in a cage.
Strictly Confidential This exhibition consisted of a collection of over 100 messages fromAfrica, Asia and the Middle East) that the artist received via email from January 2003 to January 2004. Each letter solicited support to launder millions of dollars through the artist’s bank account. Four bound copies of the text Strictly Confidential containing several hundred email messages were placed on a shelf attached to the wall and 40 enlarged copies of the texts were pinned to walls of theGallery.
Freudian Slip Jacquard woven cloth 40”x30” with text and mirror. (Cloth woven by Robin Muller and Nancy Price). Text on cloth reads “Looking into the face of a mirror that belonged to another person your soul may become trapped and manipulated by the dead host”.Photo courtesy of the FreudMuseum, Vienna
Pay-for-View/Review In this work the artist will temporarily realign pay-for-view binoculars and other viewing instruments at various tourist locations throughout the city ofNewcastle in order to facilitate alternative sets of views of the city and environs. (A continuing project in collaboration with Allan Chawner).
Photographs byCressida Goddard and Allan Chawner