On Line Clothes Swap, 2023
Can art be an agent of social change?
This interactive work represents a shared desire to find new sustainable ways to live - It’s a social experiment that invites the audience to complete the artwork by hanging pre-loved clothes on, or removing them from, the Hills Hoist clothes line.
On Line Clothes Swap reflects my interest in art as a verb, as opposed to a novelty object, an idea first explored by The Fluxus movement in the 1960s, whose focus was on the process rather than the product. Another question I am interested in exploring through this work is whether public art has a moral responsibility beyond beauty?
The fashion industry is widely accepted as one of the most environmentally destructive globally, with the business model of most brands based on the fact that 1/3 of what they produce will go directly to landfill. As consumers we tend to feel helpless against the tide of such commercial forces and are looking for alternative ways to live more responsibly. This public artwork suggests a way to do that while bringing people together and inviting the audience to construct the artwork themselves.
On Line Clothes Swap draws on the familiarity and nostalgia of the iconic, and very Aussie, Hills Hoist clothes line to bring people together and suggest a novel way to share resources. On display in Marks Park, Bondi as part of Sculpture By The Sea, Bondi, this work became an engaging, fun, colourful, kinetic installation that was positively embraced by the audience and changed from one moment to the next across the duration of the exhibition.
As an artist I am interested in how the energy of each day varied depending on who visited and what they were willing to leave on the line and how the work might change if it was exhibited in a different city or location in Sydney.
This year I was awarded the Helen Lempriere Scholarship for a Mid Career artist (facilitated by Perpetual) and joined the Sculpture By The Sea Decade Club (having exhibited a total of 10 times at Bondi).
Sculpture By The Sea, Bondi, Oct 20 - Nov 6, 2023
Supported by Thread Together and Hills Home
Feature image by Charlotte Curd
