[ISEA2013] Artists Statement: Kate Richards, Ross Gibson & Aaron Seymour – Unhomely: Reynold’s Cottage

Artists  Statement

Reynolds Cottage (AU) in The Rocks is processed and possessed in this premiere of a new work from the Life After Wartime suite, an ongoing body of electronic art that poetically engages with Sydney’s criminal past through archival police photographs (1945-60). With ‘Unhomely’ the artists set loose an historical reverie, reanimating a site soaked in centuries of humanity. As winter’s dusk encroaches on The Rocks, a dream of past occupants and events unfolds through the windows of Reynold’s Cottage. The spectacle is uncanny, luminous and touching. This old home gets transformed into an uncanny magic lantern disclosing a dark city’s yearning. ‘Unhomely’ can be viewed from two perspectives – 28 Harrington Street and the rear, accessible from the public square off Suez Canal. The images come from several local crimes, from murders to petty theft, abortion and illegal gambling. Images used with the kind permission of the NSW Police Forensic Photography Archive, Justice and Police Museum, Historic Houses Trust of NSW.  lifeafterwartime.com

  • Kate Richards (AU) is an electronic media artist, producer, new media dramaturge and academic. Her recent work spans most of the convergent space, from multichannel installations (Bystander 2007, the Museum of Sydney video wall 2003), to software (sub_scape with Sarah Waterson 2004-08, Wayfarer (Global Agents) with Martyn Coutts 2010, live performance, data mapping and projection (Encoded with Stalker Theatre 2012, Bloodbath 2010, Travels in Beautiful Desolation 2010), and virtual worlds (Foul Whisperings, Strange Matters 2007 with Ely-Harper and Thomas). She is the co-ordinator for the Masters of Convergent Media at UWS, and is currently developing a new, highly affective environment called grove. As a producer she has worked with corporate and cultural sector clients since 2000. katerichards.net
  • Ross Gibson (AU), an award winning writer and media artist whose installations, films and books have been distributed worldwide, is currently Professor of Contemporary Arts at Sydney College of the Arts. His media arts works range from short and feature films (Camera Natura 1987, Dead to The World 1991, WILD 1993) to immersive, interactive installations including The Bond Store, 1995 for the Museum of Sydney, Conversations (with Jeffrey Shaw and Denis del Favaro), 2005, and Conversations II for the Biennale of Sydney, 2008. As a curator he has worked at the MCA, Museum of Sydney, the Drill Hall, the Department of Foreign Affairs, Object Gallery and Pacific Wave Festival, and he was the inaugural commissioning curator at the Australian Centre for the Moving Image, Melbourne. He has had 11 books published, plus the blog Accident Music, over 30 book chapters, and many journal articles. rossgibson.com.au
  • Aaron Seymour (AU), an artist, designer and academic, is the visual designer for Life After Wartime. Alongside his art practice, he has designed numerous audience experiences for museums and cultural institutions, harnessing interactive technologies to bring museological and archival collections to life. His short films have twice been nominated for AFI awards, screening internationally, and are held in state and national film archive collections. He has developed identity, publication, communication and exhibition design work for clients including Sydney Dance Company, Björk, Sydney Opera House Trust, Sydney Symphony Orchestra, Levis Europe and London’s Wellcome Collection. Since entering academia he has pursued experimental graphic applications of new material and fabrication technologies, and curated Graphic Material, UTS Gallery, 2010. His current research focuses on the affective potential of designed space. cargocollective.com/aaronseymour