Detail and Installation images, Dance dance dance, 2023, RMIT

Surveyor’s level and tripod, timber and ply box, vintage collage paper, foam core, USB lighting, paint. 

In Understory, the glass in the old jars had served to warp the appearance of the images inside. I now wanted to explore what the lens might do instead. An old surveyor’s level was used to view objects from afar. The lens allowed great detail to be seen at long distances, but the images were quite dim unless the objects being viewed were lit with a strong light.

To counter this, I constructed a small plywood theatre with its own internal lighting. Paper figures were made, and the partitions were collaged to create a little baroque world inside. The surveyor’s level was placed a distance away and focused into the body of the theatre. This had a condensing effect on what was viewed inside the theatre and took away any three-dimensionality, but it also had the effect of bringing a distant image closer. Details were seen that could only be viewed through the lens.

This was a bit of an experiment. I was not super happy with the results but I thought I’d include it here as I like some of the images. Some works function more as stepping stones to other works. The ideas and methods used in Dance dance dance informed the next work The Invaders.

This work was created and presented on the land of the Wurundjeri Woi-wurrung and Bunurong / Boon Wurrung peoples of the Kulin Nation. I pay respect to their Elders past and present. I acknowledge and honour the unbroken spiritual, cultural and political connection they have maintained to this unique place for more than 2000 generations.