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THE STORY ABOUT THE WORK

A long-term underlying driver of our creative practice both individual and collaborative is linked to a philosophy of Being Present. Our work responds to a variety of conditions and influences including historical that relate to the contemporary experience of a place, space and time.

This bookwork and exhibition is the culmination of work started in December last year when we were offered a show by the Wangaratta Art Gallery Director Rachel Arndt in the Wangaratta Performing Arts Centre (WPAC). Very early in the project, Arndt selected the image of Doug walking along the Wooli Wooli River to be the featured image. This image holds a lot of meaning for us as it is emblematic of our long journey along many paths following new directions in our creative and personal life.

In the WPAC space we could only present framed work as a requirement for the organisation due to the complexity of presenting off the wall art in that public space. As our medium is artists books and photobooks with wall art to support the concept, we were then confronted with the dilemma of how to present an exhibition that was potentially an artists book. We forged ahead, confident that this would be resolved as we materially worked through the project.

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Following on from recent work in the nearby Winton Wetlands (Mokoan) and our Desire Paths series of books, we began the project by exploring tracks within the local place of Wangaratta, the Ovens River and the Warby Ranges.

During this time we also returned to the place of the Wooli River walk in northern NSW where we further developed the conceptual and creative work.

At this time we identified and drew upon a connection to the exhibition space as a site that related to our practice that involves self-documentation as a performative exploration of each concept.

The book was now taking shape as a series of Eight Acts that brought together our physical and psychological documentation together with the concepts of performance. As Arndt highlights in the exhibition didactic our work is:

… not driven by the necessity to ‘arrive’ at a determined end point, but instead guided by a shared philosophy of ‘being present’ – to meander and be aware of the possibilities in each step. Attuned to the sounds of birds, the texture or shape of a tree, an abstract form or shadow, or a poetic thought, they will stop and take time to observe and document these moments, each pause a metaphorical and visual conversation between time, place and being-in-the-world.

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Presented as a series of eight ‘Acts’, Cooper and Spowart’s new body of work explores the psychological and corporeal insights of their walking practice. Their performative actions are captured through the making and reading of a book, with each framed work presenting one page turned and exposed, while another is hidden below. Just as one leg steps forward, the other remains behind in shadow. The ground, or their mise-en-scene, bringing situational significance.

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We designed the book so that each ‘Act’ offers an engaging haptic reading experience through unfolding the pages. In the exhibition space we were unable to show the book, therefore to give viewers an opportunity to see it in its entirety we made videos performing each ‘Act’ folio. Visitors to the exhibition can access these high definition videos via QR codes on the didactic panel next to each frame. We will also be presenting the book at specified times during the exhibition’s 3 month duration.

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HERE ARE THE EIGHT ACTS

ACT ONE – The fourth path

TO VIEW A VIDEO PERFORMANCE of this ACT “Click”  HERE

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ACT TWO – Angophora Grove Walk

TO VIEW A VIDEO PERFORMANCE of this ACT “Click”  HERE

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ACT THREE – Walking the Fenceline

TO VIEW A VIDEO PERFORMANCE of this ACT “Click”  HERE

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ACT FOUR – Walking Through the Thickness …

TO VIEW A VIDEO PERFORMANCE of this ACT “Click”  HERE

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ACT FIVE – In the Presence of a Tree

TO VIEW A VIDEO PERFORMANCE of this ACT “Click”  HERE

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ACT SIX – The Meeting Circle

TO VIEW A VIDEO PERFORMANCE of this ACT “Click”  HERE

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ACT SEVEN – Portal, The Great South-West Walk

TO VIEW A VIDEO PERFORMANCE of this ACT “Click”  HERE

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ACT EIGHT – Taking Flight, Boroka Lookout

TO VIEW A VIDEO PERFORMANCE of this ACT “Click”  HERE

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THE ARTISTS’  EPILOGUE TO THE BEING PRESENT BOOK

Throughout the development of this project, we have been informed by, and acted on, insights arising from both the physical: walking and corporeal contemplation; and the psychological: metaphorical and poetic connections with our surroundings.

Being Present is a philosophy that resonates throughout our creative careers and everyday life – underpinning our past, and as we navigate new paths.

The performance and creation of the eight ACTS has set the stage for future visual books to share, through the haptics of reading and visual metaphors, a deep connection with narratives of place.

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THE MAKING OF THE BOOK

This body of work was first exhibited as a book in frames  in Wangaratta Art Gallery’s exhibition space at the Performing Arts Centre in August to December 2024.

The book was resolved, printed and bound in our Bridge Street Studio in Benalla.

Being Present: Eight Acts is printed on an Epson printer with pigment inks on Epson Velvet Fine Art Paper and Zerkall printmaking papers and bound in Stonehenge covers, with Kozo Kawairi interleaved papers and waxed linen thread.

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ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

We wish to thank Rachel Arndt, Director of the Wangaratta Art Gallery for the opportunity for us to conceptualise, develop and create a new body of work that relates to the continuing theme in our work – Being Present.

We wish to thank Dr Felicity Rea for the access given to her family retreat at Wooli where we worked on this project. We also wish to acknowledge her continuing commentary and support of our work.

Thanks also to Cassandra Pollack for her knowledge and companionship along the Ovens River walk.

Thanks to Remy at She’s Arty in Benalla for the framing of the exhibition.

We also acknowledge the First Nations as the traditional custodians of the Country on which we have travelled through and worked. We respect their deep and enduring connection to their lands and waterways and recognise that sovereignty was never ceded.

We honour and respect their ancestors, Elders past, present and emerging and the continuation of cultural, spiritual and educational practices of all Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples.

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Victoria Cooper + Doug Spowart

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WATCH THIS SPACE …

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