Vicki
West's words made from dodda vine hover above the thousands of people
whose focus is the main stage of the Marion Bay Falls Festival. This
is art that embraces it's location and, if you are open to it,
introduces interesting discussion and insight. The punters may not
understand the meaning of the words lome
merker (deep water) leaturi
(wave) gunta
(earth) and karnelare
(echo), but this work can be appreciated as it is suspended against
the backdrop of the hills, bush and coastline. There is a lovely
layering and irony about these Aboriginal words hanging so
comfortably above the land that was once inhabited by another and is
now covered in a swarm of music lovers.
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| Vicki West's Water Waves Earth Echoes |
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| Ralf Haertel's very tactile & luscious Earthpoles |
Unlike
the safety of a white walled gallery, the paddocks, waterways and
trees of the Marion Bay property that accommodates the Falls
Festival does not have the usual cues that guide the audience.
Aboriginal artist, Vicki West is one of 12 environmental artists who
produced artwork that sat in and around the 15 000 festival goers.
Such festivals were once purely music, but in the last 5-10 years
they have incorporated an arts program with performance, visual arts
and installations.
The
challenges in developing art that can be included in such events must
be huge. The OH & S issues alone could stimey most, but then
there is the added acknowledgement that the majority of individuals
attending these events are tanked on alcohol and drugs. This
represents a huge issue for artists wishing to engage with
individuals within the crowd without encouraging the destruction of
artworks. How do they do it and what is the intention? And how does
environmental art fit into this context? It's one thing to develop an
artwork that is bright, shiny and engaging, but does message laden
and conscience driven art have a place at such events.
A
refreshing quality in many environment artists I have encountered, is
their philosophical approach to producing and installing work at
festivals and their consideration of how people engage with the work,
which is at huge risk of theft, damage or decay. On the night that
Linda Barker's Dragonflies,
made
from bark and wire, were
installed
in the nearby creek at Marion Bay, 3
were taken. She seemed unconcerned and slightly revelled in the
thought that 'someone must
have really liked them'.
Are the
sculptures taken for mementos or to capture and destroy? It is a
strange relationship between the audience and the artist. What
remains at the end of a festival, when the crowds have gone is a sea
of abandoned tents. Tents that are claimed and recycled by the same
artists who have had work damaged, stolen or used as a urinal.
Abandoned tents from the 2011 Falls Festival became Tent Dreams;
flags created by Martin Cole and Karen Austen at this year's event,
joyfully greeting the thousands of cars entering the festival site.
There is something amusing and lovely about this and suggests there
maybe scope for both the artist and the audience to benefit from this
symbiotic relationship.
And
this, it seems, is the lovely nature of how the Shadows collective
works. These artists are unpretentious, unassuming, but absolutely
committed and passionate about their work. Martin Coles's Longing
was created 3 years ago
when the first Shadows program was included as part of the Falls
Festival. It is a large circle of found branches recovered from the
property and wound together to create a beautiful circle that has
quite an ethereal quality about. The work has been sitting on the
land, greying and knotting into itself. Until recent trips to the
site to start planning his new work, Martin was unaware as to whether
the piece was still in position or if it had been pulled apart or
burnt. How refreshing this attitude is; the ability to let go and
explore new opportunities from what is left. This recycling and
reconstruction is a familiar theme used by many of the artists
involved in Shadows and is common in the field of environmental art.
Well known British artist, Andy Goldsworthy makes site specific work
that is designed to decay into the environment. It is partly the
ephemeral nature of such work that gives it a beauty and edge that
resonates with the viewer. And I can see this in the way the Shadows
Collective work.
I
remember stumbling across Jo Anglesey's Rainbow
Trees as I walked the Art
Trail at the Jacky's Marsh Forest Festival in 2012. I felt that this
magical environment set within a secluded patch of bush had been
created just for me. Who would think that wrapping trees in rainbow
coloured satin could evoke such emotion and sense of tranquillity.
And who would think that this could be recreated in a completely
different context at this years Falls Festival. Instead of seclusion,
Jo chose to wrap part of two trees in a very open and public space
near the main stage. The intricately wrapped trees created a refuge
and peace from the chaos and noise. Individuals sought the trees out;
to lay beneath or lean against them.
There
are risks with this pattern of recycling and reconstituting. Artworks
are reconstructed and some repositioned from festival to festival.
Each location reconstruction would need to be seen in isolation to
ensure the realisation of a new piece is successful. Generally, I
think this is done very well by the collective. The installation of
Sonja Hindrum's Pleiades was the most successful I had seen
this work. It was installed on the side external wall of the main
stage, greeting the thousands who trekked from the beach or camped.
It sprawled over the wall and lit up at night through the use of
fluorescent paint. Vicki West has also proven her skills in
reinventing her works. She pulls apart and redesigns work that evolve
into new pieces that resonate and connect with the audience.
Other
works are less successful and definitely have a lifespan. This is
particularly the case for those artworks that are included as is,
without any or minimal changes. If there is not capacity to change or
redesign the actual artworks, it has to be about the positioning of
them. Artists who are faced with this challenge include Linda
Barker's Dragons Fly Away and Sandra Lancaster's Sea Flower
Strays that potentially have a
limited lifespan.
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| Sea Flower Strays by Sandra Lancaster |
This is
an issue that co-curator of Shadows at Falls Festival, Ralf Haertel,
is very aware of and there is an unofficial understanding that works
have a lifespan of around 3 years before new works are to be
developed.
Over the
last 3 years I have witnessed the increased inclusion of
environmental art in fringe as well as mainstream festivals,
including the Jackey's Marsh Forest Festival; the home of huge forest
protests in the 1980's, the Queenstown Project 2012, a new festival
that housed site specific installations in the moonscape of West
coast Tasmania and recently the Marion Bay Falls Festival; a major
festival that attracts more than 15 000 people. It is not the first
time environmental art has been included in these festivals, but the
quality of the work and the prolific nature of the artists is drawing
greater attention, or at least perhaps it needs to.
I can
see that many of the works are successful pieces. They can be
thoughtfully created and engage and delight the viewer. Of course,
they don't all work, but the balance between the message and the
making is an interesting process that deserves further exploration
and I look forward to the next iteration of Shadows that will provide
greater insight into this accomplished group of artists.
More
information about the Shadows group is available at
www.shadowsartatfalls.blogspot.com.au
