Tuesday 19 May 2015

in situ : in stall



the last time i curated an exhibition was 1986
a lifetime ago
when
my name was
Schwerdtfeger
and people took me seriously
because i had a title
"Visual Arts Development & Exhibitions officer, Arts Council of South Australia"

these days the Arts Council [as it was then] no longer exists, having been absorbed by the Regional Cultural Trusts
and my surname changed by marriage.

these days i am India Flint
of nowhere in particular.

two years ago i conceived the notion of an exhibition
"in situ"
about the sense of place, whether in the pristine wild or amid the clutter of the city, whether derived from the locality of our birth or a dwelling place of choice, whether acknowledged or suppressed pervades how we live and work. place is integral to human integrity and to our sense of being.

i invited eleven people i knew to participate.
and
over time 
it has gradually come together.
 ‘in situ’ comprises work by  Sandra Brownlee, Dorothy Caldwell, Helen Carnac, Imbi Davidson, Desiree Fitzgibbon, Roz Hawker, Nikki Jackson, Judy Keylock, Isobel McGarry, John Parkes and me; examining the experience of locality, exploring the intimacy of personally familiar places and the particular relationship each artist has with their environment. 
i will confess i struggled with including my own work. as curator, this is somewhat frowned upon. Directors of galleries certainly shouldn't do it, but in this case it is a sort of anchor point. at least, that's my excuse.
 
 so today i drove to work with my assistant
 
through a blue sky day, to grapple with the delight of empty space
and with arranging work to claim it.

much later i pootled home along the backroads

past stubble fields that looked like stitches
through Rathjens Gap, where one hundred years ago witches were reputed to fly
and where i suspect petroglyphs might still be found
if the sun were at the right angle
finding new puddles on the way
home to the studio
where it was time to burn a few boats
under the careful supervision of Tabitha
while Kubbi slept the sleep of the just
after which
i made a new drawing tool
one that does justice to the inkwell i found last year at McArdle Bay, Lopez Island


tomorrow it's back to the Murray Bridge Regional Gallery
to complete the install

ready for the opening on Friday May 22 @ 7pm

do swing by if you're in the region.







'If you don’t know where you are, you don’t know who you are'      Wendell Berry


16 comments:

  1. i read about the exhibition on roz blog , very interesting i am glad you will make pictures from this , people i have heard so much about but never done any workshop with , kubbi dear one are very interested in the world textile or not !!

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    1. oh , i forgot workshop with one you India

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  2. Lovely to read the backstory on your curator's hat and this will be an inspiring gathering of works.

    One thing is very certain: you shall never be lost while Kubbi's antennae are in action .... my, that pup has herself some serious ears!
    p.s. what's on end of drawing tool - leather? seed pod? sorry, being nosey.

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    1. Beaten scrap copper on a deerbone handle...which goes beautifully with that "can end" inkwell.

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  3. looking forward to seeing some pics of the install .... mmmmmm wendell..... nothing better than a line or two from wendell to put one in situ xxxx

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  4. can't get to the opening, but hope J will drive me over on Saturday. Have a wonderful night.

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  5. I am looking forward to it and bringing some friends :) Ah, Wendell Berry... stubble-like stitches... see you soon!

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    1. Car picnic cake has been prepared... marmalade is being brought in case it might be welcomed... jumper almost done... anticipation being enjoyed this end! If those are the little boats of the last exhibition being burned... we all spent a lot of time appreciating them while they were in display and thinking them over.

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  6. Curating is hard but so rewarding--especially when you are participating too. This sounds like such an intriguing show. I look forward to the documentation of this international gathering.

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  7. oh look forward to seeing all the works in situ!

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  8. I love the idea of 'sense of place'... how the environment influences and artist and their work.. it is obvious how much your environment affects you.. your images are wonderful.

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  9. intriguing binding concept... can't wait to see the pictures... until then -- your new book will suffice. It arrived in the mail today!! It's like Christmas in June.

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    1. what a sweet thing to say, thank you! there are some hazy pix here
      https://insituinplace.wordpress.com/
      and i'm looking forward to the professional documentation of the show, to be published [in an extension to the site above] at the end of July.

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