Fragments of Connection: Learning Merri-bek
The exhibition Fragments of Connection: Learning Merri-bek weaves together creative responses by RMIT students, produced during a two-week intensive studio at RMIT PlaceLab Brunswick in December 2022. Led by Dr Alan Hill, one of the academics for the Creatives, Communities and Economies project, the studio brought together undergraduate students from photography, art, fashion and sound design. Additional studio guidance was given by Jody Haines, a previous artist-researcher-in-residence at PlaceLab, and Shehab Uddin, a visiting photographer and academic from Bangladesh, currently living in Queensland.
The intensive studio with the provocation of “doing visual politics” encouraged a process of collective learning and unlearning to deepen an understanding of place. Through conversation, time by the Merri Creek, archival research, walking, listening, cycling and creating, students sought to position and reposition themselves with different knowledges of place. In doing so, they asked questions about what it means to live and work on unceded lands.
Congratulations to all students involved in the studio – Deb Higgins, Eamon Magree, Evelyn Challinor, Jess Tyrrell, Pug, Renatta Premolo, Sophie Spence and Zachariah Micallef – on your thoughtful and creative efforts.
Archived collages. By Pug.
“I began this project wanting to document the pollution that filled the Merri Creek – more noticeable now that the flood waters had receded. But the creek was more than the rubbish that floated in its currents. Shifting from documentary to a slightly abstract style felt more appropriate, as it represented a change in our thoughts, feelings, and what direction we would go with this project. Going from clear, but misplaced intent, to questioning our aims, this murky period of questioning was vital to the project, as it led us to a moment of reflection and subsequent clarity.” – Jess Tyrrell
What is our place in all of this? By Jess Tyrrell.
An excerpt of Merri Reflections by Deb Higgins.
Black birds singing to the wind, to each other,
somehow harmonising with the sore throat warble of
the honey eater.
A straw necked ibis circling in the wintry summer
winds, looking intently at a murder of crows searching
for clues in the prickles of newly mown grass.
Old knees clicking, whispered conversation on the
path, a cyclist roaring past the distinct rhythms of
pounding feet, and the hum of telephone repeaters
becoming new perch holds for birds.
A newborn’s family, wearing masks, enjoying the lines
and light of late afternoon shadows, gesturing to the
acrobatics of a light place overhead.
A gate closing, the soft step of the a greyhound walking in
the fresh scent of rain and rustling grass.
Dandelions, Lomatia, Casurina, silken waterfalls of
wattle blossoms, with the half dead stump of a weeping
willow providing safe haven for a bee.
The sound of water, the smell of water, the feel of
water: its constant headlong rush searching for new
destinations.
Water by Deb Higgins.
“As an outsider, the process of collecting and arranging materials gave me a sense of understanding of the community, the creek and every living thing that was crawling and flying around me. While making these sculptures, the choice to use these materials was not only inspired by the beauty of the surrounding landscape, but also by a desire to draw connections between celebration, care and nature.The noise of the river, the smell of the wet grass and balance of every little thing made me feel that I was in the concrete jungle anymore, and it was beautiful.” – Renatta Premolo
Footsteps taken/ Archival collage by Sophie Spence.
The intensive student studio was concurrently run with studios in Bangladesh and Nepal, allowing students the opportunity to virtually share perspectives across different cultures places. This greatly enriched considerations of place in relation to creative practice, so many thanks to the DFAT New Colombo Plan, the Pathshala South Asian Media Institute and photo.circle in Nepal.
Closer to home, special thanks to Uncle Bill Nicholson, Julia, Freya and Maya for their time and generosity in conversation with the studio. Thank you also to Dr Marnie Badham and PhD researchers from the School of Art – Varuni Kanagasundaram and Channon Goodwin – for joining the studio to discuss their methods and creative practice.
In conversation and residence at RMIT PlaceLab Brunswick.
Fragments of Connection: Learning Merri-bek will be on view at RMIT PlaceLab Brunswick until the 13th January 2023. If you’re in the neighbourhood, please drop by and have a look! Otherwise, you can take a virtual walk-through in the video below.
Congratulations to all involved on a fantastic studio and exhibition!
A walk-through of Fragments of Connection: Learning Merri-bek at RMIT PlaceLab Brunswick.