phd artworks 2003-2006
Working between 2003-2006, exploring the connections between walking, fieldwork and the field on the border of unceded Gija and Miriuwung Gajerrong land
Relevant texts:
fieldwork/fieldwalking Project Abstract (2006):
fieldwork/fieldwalking is a contemporary art project exploring practices of walking and science in the field. It explores the themes of walking and fieldwork in art, and as art. Whilst the sociology of science in the laboratory has been well theorised, less has been said about the field in the natural sciences. And, equally, the most recent and provocative walking art is found in urban areas, in a fabric dominated by the patterns of human settlement. How could new walking art be made in non-urban places? The project set out to investigate how these two, fieldwork and walking, could be combined in artwork. The research question was: in the common ground shared between art and science, what are the connections between fieldwork and walking in the field? The project explored this and five sub-questions through photography, video, and the creation of installations and sound art walks. Much of the research revolved around one field location, the walkingcountry in the Kimberley of Western Australia that was visited six times over different seasons from 2004 to 2006. Activities included walking and general immersion in the place, scientific and artistic ‘fieldwork’ and the observation and documentation of the work of scientists at the site and in the Kimberley.
Phillips, P. (2004). Doing art and doing cultural geography: The fieldwork/field walking project. Australian Geographer, 35(2), 151-159. Online at http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/0004918042000249458
(revised and illustrated version: here)