Memefest's Radical Intimacies, sneaks into a small town in rural NSW
In contemporary Australia the words ‘country’, ‘decolonisation’, ‘family’ and ‘law’ are loaded with meanings that differ greatly from person to person across this nation’s Aboriginal and migrant communities.
As part of Memefest's Radical Intimacies, a small group of us got together a few weeks ago and developed a work that explored this diversity while challenging our understanding of ourselves and others through a poster series and four-part publication.
We posted these around Melbourne a few weeks ago, but most recently they've surfaced in a small town called Kandos on Wiradjuri Country in rural NSW. They're on the shop front windows of Kandos Projects, which hosts a biennial arts festival every two years and where I am currently staying (http://cementa.com.au/).
The posters are causing many heads to turn and spurring curiosity and conversation in this sleepy but complex post-industrial town that, like many others, works hard to forget the violent history of its foundation!
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8 years, 6 months ago
Hey Alana, It is lovely to see this works spreading and getting peoples attention in other places. If we could somehow get more feedback by how people feel and react while seeing this- it would be super. Curious to hear how this will all work in Warmun!
8 years, 6 months ago
Indeed Oliver. I am not sure how people feel about it - but it certainly makes people stop, they linger at the window and look over the images. More so than in the city as this environment has a less dominant visual culture on the streets. Through this, I see more of the power that is inherent in placing these same words under different people's faces - and I imagine people passing by are trying to piece it together, asking themselves, "what does 'law' mean to that person, compared to that person?"...and so on for all the words 'family', 'country' and 'decolonisation'. For me this is quite powerful - though it is merely my speculation.
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