Last night we celebrated the closing of ‘Go Away and Come Back: an exhibition of architecture, travel, research, experience‘. It’s been a pleasure to work with this talented bunch. For those who didn’t make it, here’s what I exhibited.

 

Two Thursday nights ago, our exhibiting group got together for a first glance at the completed installation. There was wine and cheese, educated guests and discourse…

GUEST REVIEWERS

Annette Condello – Lecturer (School of Built Environment – Curtin Uni)
Annette Seeman – Artist/Lecturer (School of Design and Art – Curtin Uni)
John Teschendorf – Artist
Roy Jones – Emeritus Professor of Geography (School of Built Environment – Curtin Uni)

EXCERPTS OF A COMPARATIVE DISCOURSE

Location in gallery: Projection Room
Works of discourse: ‘Travel in time: an architectural journal of shifting perceptions’ stop motion short film (709 individually photographed frames / 4.32 minutes) and ‘To measure Pompeii’ four reproductions of A1 measured hand drawings, and slides.

AS – It’s a completely different sense of time about the two works. I don’t know if that was a deliberate curatorial strategy but I think it works really well. The speed of which [Travel in time] is moving compared to [To measure Pompeii] – you can’t really make sense of it because it’s going so fast – and there’s a great big shock when it all disappears under the al foil. It’s funny, the relationship between the two. We’re almost going backwards in time with [To measure Pompeii] and [Travel in time: an architectural journal of shifting perceptions] is racing ahead. This [juxtaposition] becomes a work in itself.

RJ – If you’re a geographer you’re into patterns and processes. [To measure Pompeii] is the enduring pattern of Pompeii and [Travel in time] is the process of tourism. It’s blurred then it’s focussed. It’s panoramic then it’s detailed. Then the feet come in. Then you’ve got all this chaotic material and experience that you’re then trying to fit together. And I think that this has achieved it through the fragmentation and rapid change that’s going on. It’s bringing all this out. Once you start flipping through the brochures it starts…

AS – The flipping is nice. There’s the flipping through things and it’s also the flip side that sends you off thinking about the flip side of travel. It’s a nice gesture. Just like magic it’s gone! Now it would be fun to do that with that work. Or to do the enduringness of Pompeii with [The Taj Mahal] or the rapid experience of [Travel in time] with [To measure Pompeii].

RJ – Not that you’re saying the Taj Mahal isn’t enduring.

AS – (Laughs) No but it doesn’t there. That’s what’s so funny. Did you intend the humour?

MC – Definitely.