siteworks bundanon
Dancing with Drones 2014
photograph Heidrun Lohr
The normalisation of drone warfare and drone surveillance is becoming a concern to all. But drones can have other uses. Starrs & Cmielewski used a drone to record dancer Alison Plevey’s site-responsive performances in different locations at Bundanon. In response to the persistently intrusive drone, she exhibits a range of different emotions including curiosity, agitation, engagement and resignation. At Siteworks 2014 she performed live at night to both her own video image and the live drone.
photograph Heidrun Lohr
We created two artworks for Siteworks 2012, developing the work during two artist residencies, responding to the unique Bundanon environment and architecture through video projection and animation techniques.
The Verdant Shed
The Verdant Shed is a night-time video projection piece where the long dead trees that are the posts supporting the old shearing shed (now the Study Centre) appear to come to life, sprouting branches and leaves that sway in the wind. This refers to both the ancient practice of building sacred structures and meeting places from living trees and also the current organic architecture trend to design modern buildings incorporating living trees. The Verdant Shed was projected onto the Study Centre at Bundanon on the night of the 29th of September 2012 as part of the Siteworks: Future Food Feast event.
Moving Graffiti is a stop motion animation that depicts a hand drawn map of the Shoalhaven River, morphing into an Australian Bass fish leaping out of the river. The Bass are in decline due to weirs and dams blocking migration on most of our rivers. Tallowa Dam on the Shoalhaven excluded the Bass from more than 80% of their habitat before a fish lift was built. We projected the fish/river animation onto several locations around Bundanon, from old fence posts to the stone walls of the Bundanon homestead, re-shot and edited to create this artwork. Moving Graffiti was installed the Bundanon Homestead Library from 29 September through to 29 October 2012 as part of Siteworks 2012.
still from Moving Graffiti