after/Landscape Pt 1
A residency at Gudgenby ready-cut cottage, Namadgi National Park, ACT, Australia
I was excited to be a part of this multi-faceted residency and exchange between Canada and Australia in 2009, travelling with my Canadian colleagues E.J. Lightman, Anne O’Callaghan and Jeannie Thib. Our first 10 days were spent in the remote location of Gudgenby in the Namadgi National Park.
It was an incredible introduction to Australia as it was not only an unique isolated landscape but one that told a significant narrative of Australian settlement from the indigenous peoples, and European migrations etc. Living in the remote hut with hundreds of kangaroos at my doorstep, hikes through the land, discussion with the rangers and several groups of visiting artists, weather changes (yes we had snow!) added greatly to the experience and set the tone for the rest of the residency.
One unexpected but delightful project I did while in the mountains was to set up a small wet darkroom and to use a collection of pinhole cameras I had made from coffee cans to explore the landscape. I was really pleased with many of the results as both research and final projects.