AirSpace | Oatlands, Tasmania, 2024
Artist Residency
Post Colonial Views, Oatlands. Collage. Ink, earth, acrylic paint on kozo papers.
In June, 2024 I spent the month as artist in residence at the Airspace in Oatlands, Tasmania.
I brought with me rolls of kozo paper I had brought from Japan together with other handmade papers. My project was to continue my ongoing project Stone Stories which I began in the Outer Hebridies and Iceland.
While in Oatlands I responded to the sandstone colonial buildings and the history of this town which played a pivotal role during the Black War against the Tasmanian Aborigines in the 1800s.
From the flagstones in the Oatlands Supreme Court building, to the convict chiseled stones in the walls of the studio space, I began making marks in response to the stories held within the stones.
Many of the artworks I made feature the lamposts or lamps on the walls. These features became meaningful as I approached my subject from a post-colonial viewpoint: to shine a light on the town’s history by using these motifs as portals for the hard conversations we need to have as a nation.
Shine Your Light Bright, Oatlands.2024.
Cracks in the Edifices: that’s how the light gets in, Oatlands, Tasmania. 2024.
Inspiration: One of the many houses with lamps in Oatlands.
Inspiration: Oatlands town hall with its lamp and interior light.