HABITAT
Part of COLLECTIVE POLYPHONY FESTIVAL
Gertrude Glasshouse, 44 Glasshouse Rd, Collingwood
8 September – 7 October, 2023
Opening Saturday, 7 September, 5 - 7pm
Nina Sanadze • Tracey Lamb • Chris Fontana • Amanda Laming • Mimmalisa Trifiló
Gertrude Glasshouse is pleased to present the exhibition Habitat by ShrewD Collective, as part of the new Collective Polyphony Festival, founded upon the central idea of community and peace-building.
The Habitat project began with an exploration of the storied “Tower of Babel” concept, in which language is attributed symbolically as the source of division among the world’s people. ShrewD Collective seized the opportunity to build something positive together, a process that embodies the universal challenges of communication and mutual understanding among people.
Bringing together five very diverse visual languages, the artists collaborate to construct a new architectural space using various elements, such as words and conversations, clay, steel, paper, wood, stone, string, fabric, and plants. The resulting Habitat stands as an alternative to the Babel Tower; a porous and visually rich immersive space that entices viewers to spend time exploring, reading, thinking, sitting, or gathering within.
The utopian setting of Habitat serves a dual purpose—it reflects and critiques the current state of the world, while offering hope and ideas for a better society. In this envisioned world, dialogue, communication, and understanding are assumed, challenging the obstacles presented within the Tower of Babel narrative.
Amanda Laming's enormous sphere-shaped sculpture greets visitors at the entrance, overwhelming and confronting them with its size, texture, and smell. It externalizes anxieties, enveloping tension and deep psychological concerns within its ball of nerves and bundled domestic memories.
Moving from this emotional space, visitors approach the cradle of the installation—a large welded piece by Tracey Lamb shaped as a welcoming and functional conversation pit and shelter. It reimagines the foundation of a successful Tower of Babel, providing an idealised gathering place for conversations, contemplation, and storytelling.
Within this space, Mimmalisa Trifilò uses language to transform the abstract into tangible reference points, signs, and symbols. Writing becomes a vehicle for communication with our selves and with others. She also nurtures plants, rapidly growing and transforming within the gallery space, serving as a metaphor for tamed nature, grief, hope, and regeneration.
Nina Sanadze attempts to comprehend, order, and conceptualise the inconceivable vastness, complexity, and diversity of humankind through visual enumeration. Her creation is a book showcasing 4000+ world religions and towers of 8500+ world languages, where endless multiplicity democratically adds up to a common denominator of our similarity.
Chris Fontana's monumental but intricate installation encloses the back of the Habitat space. A richly textured, narrative map reflects upon the contrived and rapid construction of historical Melbourne as an urban habitat. The work critiques the concept of the 'new' city, and the universal[ised] language of capitalism as both a unifying and destructive force.
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The genesis of this exhibition developed from Nina Sanadze's decision to share her Gertrude Residency solo show at the Glasshouse with her ShrewD Collective members, shedding light on their artistic practices and fostering mutual support, community cohesion, and collaboration.
Staying true to her large-scale, peace-building social-practice projects, Nina expanded this concept and orchestrated the ground-breaking Collective Polyphony Festival. This extraordinary event will showcase exhibitions and events presented by 10 diverse international and local collectives, spread across seven established art spaces during September and October 2023. The primary goal of the festival is to celebrate and explore the concept of collaborative organization while nurturing Collectives with their individual agendas.
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Literary Recital: Saturday 7 October 2023, 3:30pm
Join ShrewD Collective’s conversation circle at 3:30pm on Saturday 7 October – the closing day of the exhibition Habitat at Gertrude Glasshouse. Collective Polyphony Festival will host an hour of poetry and creative writing readings by artists presented across the festival.
Collective Recitals participants include:
Chris Fontana (ShrewD Collective)
Josephine Mead (In-kind Collective)
Ben Qin (Chinese Museum Arts Collective)
Sarah Rudledge (In-kind Collective)
Mimmalisa Trifilò (ShrewD Collective)
Mao Zhe (Chinese Museum Arts Collective)