Commissioned by Metro Tunnel Creative Program

Curatorial Advisor - Global Art Projects

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South Yarra, Melbourne, 2018  (Various Locations around the Metro Tunnel construction site)

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As keen ornithologists and horticulturalists we are encouraged by research that suggests native birds and animals might already be repopulating the spaces between the inner city and agricultural land. The densification of the inner city will continue as the frontier but we’re excited to see where new thinking will take us in the pursuit of living with nature.

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In considering the location in South Yarra, the potential audiences and the parameters of the site for the artwork, we alighted on an idea that utilises a chance graphic language from the studio. The work we are proposing for this project invites us all to consider the rhythm of what’s around us, encouraging us to find poetry and serendipity in our everyday routines.

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Spacecraft studio has three 7m print tables. The tables have a layer of felt that is protected by a layer of canvas, a “ backing cloth ”.

The print tables are used to produce art, design projects and for experimentation and over time, usually around 12 weeks, these backing cloths become so saturated with traces of art projects, print ideas and pigment that they have to

be replaced.

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The print table backing cloths record individual projects and the methodologies we explore in testing the boundaries of screen printing and our own skills. Amongst the build up of accumulated traces of printed ideas we discover chance compositions, capturing a period of time in studio history. So the studio backing cloths are essentially a by product of studio practice, teaching us to embrace unexpected juxtapositions and to innovate in response to opportunities.

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There are hundreds of individual stories represented in the backing cloth graphic. We feel these fragments will encourage an evolving interaction with the work, for an audience that will encounter the artwork on a daily basis, stimulating curiosity and engagement with the artwork over a long period of time.

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www.spacecraftaustralia.com

Instagram  @spacecraft_studio

www.metrotunnel.vic.gov.au/about-the-project/creative-program