I was 1 of 24 artists selected to take part in the Project24 artist residency program in 2023.
ArtsCoast Space for Creative residency program, Project 24 was housed at 2ND Space, Nambour. These residencies were open for application yearly and take up to twenty-four residencies over a twelve-month period.
Residencies are open to artists interested in developing their work and experimenting with their practice or collaborative. The program includes one-on-one and group sessions with respected local and national mentors, and ends with a public showing of your undertakings.
My Project 24 residency project “There’s a Bug in it” intended to explore and photograph the existence of, and our reactions to, insect life within natural floral and botanical arrangements, as opposed to the bug-free expectation of commercial florist bouquets. This project follows on from my 2015 artwork, The Rose Pink Rose, where an Australia Crab Spider revealed itself unexpectedly mid-way through the photoshoot and became the unexpected hero. For this photographic experiment, I wanted to gather floral cuttings from nearby gardens, transport them to Project 24’s MarkersSpace, arrange them as a series of suspended bouquets and specimens in front of a fixed camera and lighting set-ups (see “Waltz, 2021” example attached), to be captured over time with hope of spectacular insect reveals. What bugs will emerge? How long will they hide? Can they be spotted in time to be captured? Will the beauty still be beautiful?
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am drawn to this experimental project because of the complete unpredictability of results, which is in complete contrast to the safety of the well-orchestrated projects I have allowed myself in the past. Having a dedicated space within Project 24 to set-up these installation-types of work, and the dedicated mental space to allow experimentation to flourish, pushes me beyond my comfort zone of predictability. The opportunity to explore and create from pure curiosity feels like a luxury, which also makes it feel somewhat irresponsible. This, in turn, makes for a really interesting time for me as an artist trying to step back across the gap between result-driven commercial endeavors to the inquiry of conceptual practice.This Project 24 residency allows room for happenstance.
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As it turns out, my residency was extremely hot over December in Queensland and the bug life was much less than I expected. The cut florals also wilted very quickly making installation a challenge. Mid way through he project, I was drawn to explore a parallel a approach to the ‘hidden what’s underneath’ concept by handwriting unwanted thoughts directly onto petals - another way of mixing perfect with imperfect, and a nice follow on from my work in Project LAB. You can see my residency documented below.