THE UNIVERSITY OF NEW SOUTH WALES Thesis/Dissertation Sheet

Surname or Family name: Dawson

First name: Louisa Other name/s: Catherine Grizelda

Abbreviation for degree as given in the University calendar: MFA

School: School of Art Faculty: College of Fine Arts

Title: Moving House: The Renovation of the Everyday

Abstract 350 words maximum: (PLEASE TYPE)

This paper describes my researcli project and body of work, which investigates social inequalities through the different language and functions of everyday objects.

The research moves on from my previous Honours research project on the double nature of caravan parks in NSW and looked at the changing demographics of these locations. I noted the increase of semi-permanent, residential 'homes' for low income earners and the unemployed, in these holiday locations.

This paper examines broader social issues of homelessness and social inequalities within our society. I look at the complexities in the definitions of homelessness and the ways in which people find themselves in the position where they rely on welfare agencies and government support. I also investigate different representations of homelessness by artists and other social commentators, ranging from the hopeless victim to the vagrant. This section locates my social concerns with the context of theoretical debate and artistic representation.

I have used everyday and mundane objects in my artworks to discuss these social concerns. Everyday objects posses a language and commonality that is familiar to all members of society. This language is developed from the different historical, cultural and functional qualities that everyday objects possess. I discus this in relation to the development of the everyday object in artistic practices from the early century to today. Of specifically importance to my practice is the influence of contemporary German artists and their manipulation of objects to make works with political and social content.

Throughout this paper I have discussed individual art works which illustrate my social concerns and the practicalities of the everyday. Revealing how I juxtapose certain objects to question the uneven nature of travel and home, with regards to possessions and mobility. Additionally I challenge the normal functions of objects to reveal new absurd possibilities of use.

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THIS SHEET IS TO BE GLUED TO THE INSIDE FRONT COVER OF THE THESIS CERTIFICATE OF ORIGINALITY I hereby declare that this submission is my own work and to the best of my knowledge it contains no materials previously published or written by another person, nor material which to a substantial extent has been accepted for the award of any other degree or diploma at UNSW or any other educational institution, except where due acknowledgement is made in the thesis. Any contribution made to the research by others, with whom I have worked at UNSW or elsewhere, is explicitly acknowledged in the thesis. I also declare that the intellectual content of this thesis is the product of my own work, except to the extent that assistance from others in the project's design and conception or in styl^ presentation and linguistic expression is acknowledged. Signed... .JZ^/k^i^CL Moving House: The Renovation of the Everyday

Louisa Dawson I 1 j N s W 19 MAR 2008 t-itiHARx Contents

Acknowledgements II

List of images III

Introduction 1

Section I Beyond Naivety 8

Sleepwalking 15

User Pays 19

Section II Common Objects on Common Grounds 26

In Transit 30

Itinerary/Itinerant 33

Temporary Displacement 38

Unsteady Work 42

Rocktools 47

Conclusion 50

Bibliography 52 List of Images

1 Recreational Vehicle (2001), COFA Graduation Exhibition, Sydney. 6

2 The Weekender (2001), COFA Graduation Exhibition, Sydney. 7

3 Sleepwalking (2003), in studio, Sydney. 17

4 Sleepwalking, Detail of sculpture when operating. 18

5 User Pays (2006), Sculpture by the Sea, Bondi, Sydney. 22

6 User Pays (2006), Sculpture by the Sea, Bondi, Sydney. 23

7 User Pays (2006), Detail of ticket. 24

8 Bumper bar sticker on the back of a utility truck in Waverley. 25

9 In Transit (2003), Multiples, COFA Performance and Exhibition Space,

Sydney. 32

10 Itinerary/Itinerant (2004), Helen Lempriere National Sculpture Award,

Melbourne. 35

11 Itinerary/Itinerant (2005), Art and About, Sydney. 36

12 Itinerary/Itinerant (2005), Detail of Sculpture. 37

13 Temporary Displacement (2004), Dresden, Germany. 40

14 Temporary Displacement (2004), Dresden, Germany. 41

15 Unsteady Work 1 (2005), MAT DAT, COFA Performance and Exhibition

Space, Sydney. 44

16 Unsteady Work 3 (2005), in Studio, Dresden Germany. 45

17 Unsteady Work (2006), The Helen Lempriere National Sculpture Award,

Melbourne. 46

18 Rocktools (2005). 48

19 Rocktools (2005), detail of measuring tape. 49

TTT Acknowledgements

I would like to thank everyone who helped me with my MFA

P r o j e c t.

This includes the people who helped me create my sculptures; Doug Knox, Michael Loke, Paul Hopmeier and

Ron Coyne.

I would like to thank the people who supervised me; Sylvia

Ross, Professor Eberhard Bosslet, Bonita Ely, Martin Sims and Allan Giddy.

Thank you also to the many people who spent the time to edit this paper; Jamil Yamani, Sylvia Ross, Mary Still,

Natalie Vlies and Mum.

Thank you to my all family and friends.

TT Introduction

For my MFA research project, I have investigated social inequalities and made comparisons between home and homelessness, travel and displacement, and public and private space. I have interpreted these issues by juxtaposing everyday objects to highlight or blur these opposing dualities in conventional thought. Moving House: The Renovation of The Everyday seeks to question and subvert the status quo of the everyday object to highlight social inequalities of domestic life, the uneven development of urban space and forced or chosen mobility. My work does this by attempting to shift commonly held western views of the tools and objects that aid us in our travels, leisure, and working lives.

In this paper. Moving House, two main components are involved. One is to discuss social concerns by looking at theoretical and sociological debates that are pertinent to my research. Within this analysis I discuss artistic representations of homelessness and poverty, including; photographic documentation, designs for temporary mobile structures, stereotypes and 'street' fads. With reference to specific artworks, I hope to reveal issues surrounding homelessness and poverty within the cities of urban Australia, and perceptions of homelessness by very different social groups. The other component of this paper will focus on The Renovation of The Everyday, discussing the language and utilitarian nature of mundane objects in relation to western societies, such as our own. I will refer to contemporary art movements and artists to illustrate the different ways everyday objects have been manipulated and how I locate myself within contemporary practice.

This research began in 2002, when I investigated temporary housing for homeless people in NSW. This directly followed from my Honours research on 'the caravan'. I had made sculptures that illustrated the dual nature of caravan usage. One is for the purpose of leisure; the other is for more permanent and affordable accommodation. This is demonstrated in my work Recreational Vehicle (2001) (see image l), which was a sculpture of a caravan made from the classic green and white coloured canvas, normally used on a caravan's annex. The tow bar was also covered in the canvas material. This caravan was small in size and had a zipper door and window. The whole structure was placed on bricks, symbolising the lack of mobility and freedom that some caravans, contradictingly, now represent. Another work, The Weekender (2001) (see image 2), used a traditional poker machine, or 'one arm bandit', which I had modified by making a movable base and giving the structure a tow bar and a car battery for power. The work implies that one could tow the poker machine away with you on holiday, attached to your car like a caravan. The sculpture looked at changes in leisure, resulting from changes in employment structures from permanent employment to the casualisation of the labour force and lack of mobility- the poker machine as the new escape v ehicle.

I began my MFA project by undertaking a number of field trips. I travelled to different inland and coastal locations and noted the prevalence of caravan accommodation in remote rural towns such as Wee Waa, Burren Junction and Lightning Ridge. On one of these journeys I was travelling with my father to Goodooga (north west of Walgett), to visit a merino station called 'Mogila', which was owned by my great uncle and was where my grandmother was born. Along the way we passed towns that have been socially and economically depressed since the decline of the wool industry and the more recent economic recession in the 1990's. Many of these towns have small caravan settlements in the centre or on the outskirts of the town to accommodate many itinerant workers who travel around the bush for employment purposes, or to accommodate stockmen who still drive livestock along the old stock routes.

My major concern, at the time, was the reported increase in the numbers of disadvantaged and poor people seeking housing in relocatable dwellings such as caravans. ^ Caravan parks situated along the coast of NSW could be classified for some people as idyllic holiday locations. Unfortunately, however, this may not be the reality for those people who are living on the fringes of society. For these people caravan parks have many disadvantages caused principally by their location. These include L limited access to schools, employment and heath resources.^ These limitations, which involve space issues in poor weather, are important to consider when recognising the difficulties that homeless people have in finding resources.^

' D. Hogarth, J. Geggi, G. Eddy, 'When home is a caravan park', Children AustraHa. vol. 19, no. 3, 1994, p. 1. 2 D. Hogarth, J. Geggi, G. Eddy, 'When home is a caravan park', Children AustraHa. vol. 19, no. 3, 1994, p. 4. 3 D. Hogarth, J. Geggi, G. Eddy, 'When home is a caravan park', Children Australia, vol. 19, no. 3, 1994, p. 4. "...location becomes important because there are spatial constrains on the availability and use of a range of resources which are not universally available but are located unevenly in geographical space". 2 This investigation into caravans led me to look at contemporary art and architecture, focusing on the design and aesthetics of functional mobile structures related to Utopian nomadism. Of particular importance is the work of Krzysztof Wodiczko and his Homeless Vehicle Project (1988) that he designed for the homeless in New York. These mobile structures which are "not intended as a solution to the housing needs of the homeless" critically highlight the lack of affordable housing and the inequalities and uneven development of urban public space. Similarly, I aim to stimulate public discussion and debate with my work."^

My research turned, then, to the city, and my own immediate environment. There are a large number of Sydney's homeless people in areas around the Sydney CBD and surrounding suburbs. In 2002, I started working at the Matthew Talbot Hostel, which is a homeless shelter for men run by St Vincent de Paul Society in Woolloomooloo. Here I assisted in art classes such as sculpture and ceramic workshops, and other activities. The hostel is itself a transient space, where men can come and go, seeking support, meals, or social interaction. It was here that I drew inspiration for my practice and focused my enquiry into homelessness and social inequalities in the urban space.

In Section I of this paper, I focus on many of the issues surrounding homelessness and poverty. I discuss the complexities of defining a term such as homelessness, as it is not just about people struggling to finding shelter or work, but more about the problems within the whole of our society. Also I discuss the many reasons why people fall bellow the 'normal' standards of living^. This can be due to a number of factors such as, poverty, drug and alcohol abuse, mental health problems, unemployment and changes in the workforce. Adding to these definitions and debates are representations of poverty and homelessness. These may come from the media or from artistic representation, which sometimes distorts the reality of the situation. The homeless have sometimes been represented as humble victims, for example, photographic documentation during the Depression. On the other hand there are stereotypical images and representations of dirty unkempt men with torn clothes, which were adopted as 'street fashions' of the 1990's. I discuss a range of artists that illustrate these

^ P. Bos well, 'Krzysztof Wodiczko - Art and the Public Domain', Public Address. Krzysztof Wodiczko. Walker Art Centre, Minneapolis, 1993, p. 23-24. 5 P. Saunders, K. Tsumori, Poverty in Australia. Beyond the Rhetoric. The Centre for Independent Studies Limited, Sydney, 2002, p. 5. issues. In this Section I also discuss my own works and how they highlight some of my own concerns.

In Section II of this paper I illustrate these ideas and interpretations by discussing the use of everyday functional objects to create sculptures and installations. I believe that there is an inherent language that common and mundane everyday objects possess within our western society. This language can be defined by an objects' functional quality and how that function is performed on a daily basis.® It is these 'non-heroic' qualities that I use for my sculptures. My practice has been influenced by many artists and movements, which look at everyday structures and objects, to critique social and political problems.

Artistic representation in sculpture and painting dramatically changed during the later period of industrialisation of Europe in the early century. Movements such as Cubism, Dadaism, Futurism and Constructivism commented on the radical social and technological changes at the time. Artists, such as Marcel Duchamp and Kurt Schwitters, explored new methods of non-representation using every day objects. Later, artists such as Ed Keinholtz, Arman and Joseph Beuys developed a more conceptual inquiry and use of everyday objects, by creating assemblages and installations that have a more political and social agenda.

I have been greatly influenced by these movements, and their development of everyday objects as an artistic language. I continued to research and look at more contemporary

European styles that have a similar background. In 2004 I undertook a years study in Dresden Germany, to research contemporary German artists such as Eberhard Bosslet. Here I focused on the functionality of mundane objects in relation to social expectations, production and location. I explored the 'language' or 'memory' of objects that have specific applications in our society.^ Bosslet also urged me to look at the work of Alan Wexler, whose practice blurs the boundaries between art and architecture. It is

from these later investigations that I will be developing my practice; in 2007 I will be

6 F-C. Prodhon, 'Jean-Luc Vilmouth', Flash Art International, vol. 25, no. 164, May/June, 1992, p. 87. 7 B, Murphy, Humpty Dumpties Kaleidoscope. A New Generation of German Artists. 1992, Museum of Contemporary Arts, p. 59. undertaking an Australia Council residency in New York to investigate Wexler and contemporary American public art. Image 1 Recreational Vehicle (2001) Image 2 The Weekender (2001) SECTION I

Beyond Naivety

Each day one in every 200 Australians are homeless, without safe, secure or affordable housing.^

This section looks at some of the problems of homelessness and social inequalities that inform my practice. First, I refer to sociological debates, highlighting the complexities of defining a term that is not only about 'not having a home' but also about a problem that faces our society generally. Reasons for homelessness can include a mixture of economic and social disadvantage in combination with political and commercial forces that destabilise people. Some people may actively reject mainstream ways of living. The personal stories, statistical reports, and political debates demonstrate these complexities. Second, I discuss the different representations of homelessness; these can range from victim to vagrant. Here I recognise different motives in artistic representation whether they are purely in documentary form, for example photography or sculptural works highlighting urban politics of redevelopment. In my practice, however, instead of speaking for the homeless, my approach is to highlight the dualities of both the comfortable and displaced, whether by choice or not. I do this through the use of everyday objects, used or touched by all walks of life, and I shall discuss this further in Section II.

Information from various studies on homelessness provides definitions and quantitative statistics, which give various insights into the number and percentage of people who are homeless in Australia. Studies, by Chris Chamberlain and David Mackenzie, Census of Population and Housing (2001), and The Australian Federation of Homeless (2001) are useful in attempting to locate people who are unlocatahle. They try to explore the different circumstances and reasons why people are in these situations, and the problems they face on a day-to-day basis. These problems may include finding shelter

^ J, Healey ed, 'Homelessness', Issues in Society, volume: 243, 2006, p. 1. This journal presents an overview of Australia's homeless. or secure housing, employment, adequate health services, education and training or resistance to the mainstream.

Some commonly held perceptions of homelessness are based on messages received from the media, churches or simply from seeing beggars and vagrants on the street.^ It is not so well known that on census night 2001, 99,900 people were homeless in Australia, yet only 14,200 people were 'sleeping rough'.^^ This data indicates that images of people sleeping on the streets or on park benches do not reveal the nature and complexities of homelessness and hidden poverty in Australian cities. Contributing circumstances can range from family breakdown, drug abuse, gambling, sexual assault, poverty, social isolation and changes in the structure of the labour market. ^^

Changes, from the 1970's, in Government responsibility for those with mental illness are another contributing aspect to homelessness. Data from the Department of Family and Community Services, collected for the National Homeless Strategy in 2000, has indicated that a number of factors have contributed to the "changing nature of homelessness in recent years".^^ One of these factors is the "deinstitutionalisation of people with psychiatric illness and physical and intellectual disabilities",^^ which, in NSW came about as a result of recommendations from the 'Richmond Report' in 1983.^^ There is unfortunately a lack of 'community' support for those with mental illness and disabilities, despite the Richmond Reports allegations, even though sometimes institutions are not the best answer. As a result welfare groups are becoming increasingly responsible, yet under funded, for providing their clients with medical care.

In working at the Matthew Talbot Hostel (sometimes shortened to 'the Talbot'), I have been able to move my own perceptions of homelessness away from what is so often a naïve set of prejudgements of "them and us" and statistical reports. During workshops that I conducted, I often chatted with the clients and shared stories with them. This

9 R. Parker, 'Introducing Representations of Homelessness', Parity, volume 11, issue 9, p. 6. J, Healey ed, 'What causes homelessness?', Issues in Society, volume: 243, 2006, p. 2 " Ibid, p. 4. Ibid, p. 4. Ibid, p. 4. ^'^The History of Rozelle Hospital Internet, http://www.cs.nsw.gov.au/mhealth/rozelle/rozhistory.html, (31.1.07). "The Inquiry into Health Services for the Psychiatrically ill and Developmentally Disabled (The Richmond Report)... many changes were implemented to improve the quality of patient care." way I have gained a deeper understanding of individual problems. For example, during Homeless Persons Week in October 2006, I took part in an art activity in Taylor Square, Sydney. This was organised by Rec-Link, which is a group of recreation departments from other inner city welfare organisations. Clients of these organisations and members of the public were invited to make designs and illustrations on paper squares, which were to be displayed in CD cases to make two large murals.

One of the men I talked to was from Western NSW near Dubbo. He explained that he had trouble with alcohol and could not fmd work in the bush. He also told me that his wife had left him and he had not seen his children for a while. He was determined that he wouldn't stay at the Talbot for too long, as it was a bad influence for guys wanting to stay 'dry'. He only wanted to stay for a week. I asked him if he knew a place called Goodooga, as my great uncle had a merino station near there. By coincidence he had worked there for a number of years as a Jackeroo and he knew one of the old managers. This gave us a point of contact as we discussed some of the problems in that area.

In comparison there was another man who was heavily medicated due to a severe mental disability resulting from heroin use. He would often fall asleep at the table, and when alert, drew images of syringes. I asked him if he needed to lie down somewhere. He explained that there weren't many safe places in the area and that he could not go too far away from the Talbot, as he received his medication from there. But he could only sleep at the Talbot at night, as the dormitories are closed during the daytime.

Another elderly woman client I met went to the same high school as me. She had won a Fulbright scholarship to study Dance in New York in the 60's. Sometimes she would start singing our old school song, for everyone to enjoy.

These personal experiences and accounts from people with whom I have sat and talked to during these activities, have influenced my perceptions and personal understanding of people who are 'down and out'. However, in my work I have chosen to focus on the people who have the ability to make choices that homelessness people cannot, using the language of objects that we all use, as a point of criticism of social inequalities. I will discuss this in more detail in relation to my sculptures, and show how my works contribute to the debate on the perceptions and realities of homelessness. There are those who assume that "basic human needs are physical", yet other sociological theorists, insist "people are social beings".^^ For these people who are not necessarily at the 'bottom' of our society, poverty is a problem because of a range of circumstances that results in them finding themselves unemployed and homeless. Poverty is a problem and a concern for all of Australian society, due to harsh economic policies and the polarisation of wealth. My work aims to move beyond stereotypes accepted by our community who often do not realise that they benefit (financially at least) from such economic policies that create unemployment and remove safety nets such as public housing. ^^

Artists and writers have been interested in representing the displaced and homeless over the centuries; in hterature Dickens or Orwell spring to mind. Photographic documentation by artists during the Depression depicting social conditions are iconic and have sometimes been romanticised as struggles of the past, with "...themes of heroism and dignity".^^ For example, Dorothea Lang's images depicting the struggles of poor people in rural areas of America during the 1930's are well known. Lang's works deliberately "focused on the plight of migrant labourers" revealing their hardships and misfortunes".^^ Lang's approach was more politically motivated as she was employed by a division of the Department of Agriculture to highlight the conditions of rural areas. "Lang created images that would broaden awareness and stimulate aid to the rural workers".^^

Henry Moore illustrated harsh human conditions of people displaced in his 'Shelter' drawings. These sketches depicted Londoners sheltering in the underground train stations during air raids in World War IL Moore described "...the experience of

'^P, Townsend, 'Forward', Excluding the Poor. Child Poverty Action Group, London, 1986, p. v. Townsend goes on to say that "It is not good enough only to recognise the 'subsistence need of families, food, shelter, household facilities and clothing, or to qualify that recognition only with token gestures to observe social customs and responsibilities." J.Pixley, Citizenship and Employment. Cambridge University Press, 1993. M.D Alexander, 'Posed to Unposed: Encounters with the Camera'. Modern starts. People. Places, Things, The Museum of Modern Art, New York, 2000, p. 150. Ibid, p. 149. Dorothea Lang was employed by the "Farm Security Administration, a division of the United States Department of Agriculture, which undertook and extensive campaign to photograph the hardships of rural life in Depression-era America". M.D Alexander, 'Posed to Unposed: Encounters with the Camera', Modern starts. People. Places, things. The Museum of Modern Art, New York, 2000, pi 49. contemplating these innocent victims of warfare revived a humanist view point in his art"?"

Representations of homelessness and poverty by contemporary artists, acting as social commentators are often criticised as lacking sensitivity and social engagement. Julian Stallabrass, in his book High Art Lite: The Rise and Fall in Toung British Art (2006), is critical of representations of homelessness by contemporary British artists, and I would also suggest that they lack the humanism that Moore tried to represent. He describes how homelessness is "quite a popular subject in high art lite because homelessness is »21 the most visible face of poverty, not shut away in council estates". He discerningly notes that much of today's popular culture and art tends to have "dwelt upon the literal surface of their condition..." and indeed that "... the dress sense of the homeless became a minor media fixation".^^ Examples are the popular fashions that copied Punk in the 1970's, and to grunge 'street fashions' in the 1990's, which included pre-ripped jeans, dirty shoes, and an all over unkempt appearance. Rohan Parker in Introducing Representations of Homelessness' (1998) states "The trajectory of representations of modern homelessness travels from deviancy 'theory' and 'skid row', to the vogue of 'street kids' and to contemporary notions of 'chronicity'> and 'caree( r homelessness'">»>. 23

Stallabrass goes on to argue that many art works by British artists in the late 1990's are straight representations (or at least of artists themselves dressed up as homeless). He says "The strategies perused by Lane, Turk and Wallinger are grounded in the postmodern critique of documentary representation that charges it with exploiting the subjects it purports to help".^"^ One of his examples is Bum (1998), a sculpture by Gavin Turk, which is a wax figure of himself dressed as a homeless person. The figure is

C. Compton 'Henry: Moore; The deeper reality., Henry Moore, Art Gallery of NSW, Sydney, 1992. p. 17 J. Stallabrass, High Art Lite, the Rise and Fall of Young British Art Verso, London, a"'' ed 2006, p. 171. High Art Lite is a term that Stallabrass employs to critique the work of young British Artists of the late 1990's and early 2000. "The other term used to name the tendency replicates the problems of'yBa', new' being a poor substitute for young'. My term 'high art lite, has the virtue of being descriptive: I hope that it captures the idea of a fast food version of the less digestible art that preceded it. The term also suggests that the phenomenon is not confined to Britain, though the particular form that is has taken her will be the focus of this book." p 2. Ibid p. 171. R. Parker, 'Introducing Representations of Homelessness', Parity, vol.11, issue. 9, p. 6. J. Stallabrass, High Art Lite: The Rise and Fall of Young British Art Verso, London, ed 2006, p 174. wearing newspaper shoes and decrepit clothes with one eye closed.^^ I agree with Stallabrass that the work objectifies what a homeless person is supposed to look like and as a result stigmatises and even trivializes a part of society that have problems of far greater complexity, and are already marginalised. Stallabrass cites an article from the Big Issue that says; "homelessness can be reduced to a commodity used for artists' ends, and to metaphors that stand for something other than themselves"?^

Rather than portraying a physical representation or the notion of the heroic nomadic underclass, there are artists that have focused on the operations of the city', identifying the social, political and economic conditions that contribute to the causes of homelessness. An example that I have mentioned briefly is Krzysztof Wodiczko Homeless Vehicle (1988). This work is a prototype for a mobile shelter for homeless people in New York. This metal modular unit could be extended to allow for sleeping, it also offered storage space, a hinged wash bowel and could be compacted down for travel. In this work Wodiczko "homeless are revealed to be less victims of their own inadequacies" and more a part of a process of "economic and social transformation". This work looks at the conditions that homeless people face on the street, such as shelter, storage and mobility. The visibility of these vehicles is, perhaps intentional, and may make it uncomfortable and confronting for people who do not have to struggle.

To conclude, this section has outlined many social issues that are important in my practice, including homelessness and social inequalities. These topics (alone) are broad and complex, and attract a variety of debates and definitions based on statistical and theoretical research. Often personal accounts are not included in debates that solely rely on statistical discussion. I have been able to hear some of these stories from my time at the Talbot. These stories have aided the development of my own perceptions. In trying to locate my practice within these debates and stories I have looked at a variety of artistic and historical representations of homelessness. For example, the photographic documentation by Dorothea Lang, portraying human hardship during the depression, the copying in appearance of homeless people for popular 'street

" J. Stallabrass, High Art Lite: The Rise and Fall of Young British Art Verso, London, ed 2006, p. 172 26 Ibid p. 175. P. Boswell, 'Krzysztof Wodiczko - Art and the Public Domain', Public Address, Krzysztof Wodiczko, Walker Art Centre, Minneapolis, 1993, p 57. fashions', and Krzysztof Wodiczko homeless structures, which attack political structures and make it uncomfortable for those who turn a blind eye, have all been influential. My works, through the use of everyday objects, demonstrates this common element between people who are homeless and people who are not. I will discuss individual works, to reveal how I illustrate the relation between the two. Sleepwalking (2003)

My sculpture, on first appearance, is an unmade single bed, with a pillow, and a pink enamel and brass bed frame. When the work is operating, the centre strip of the mattress moves, like a conveyor belt or a treadmill. One can walk on the bed, and change the pace of the treadmill to slow, medium or fast. This electronic sculpture explores a number of issues that relate to homelessness, restlessness and the monotony of daily routine.

The bed represents sleep and rest. It is a place where we go at the end of the day to seek comfort, security and sometimes intimacy. Sleeping is when we physically relax our bodies and where our nervous system is inactive^^. For some people who are

'moving between temporary housing solutions'29, finding a new place to sleep, on a daily, weekly or monthly basis, is a reality. For those who are constantly on the move, the notion of rest is only temporary.

Sleepwalking (see image 3 & 4) confronts this notion of restlessness by focusing on the action of walking. With the bed acting as a treadmill, the contradiction between rest and no rest, and moving without actually going anywhere is implied. The title therefore gives a double meaning; instead of people who walk when they are asleep and dreaming; it refers to people who have to walk to fmd somewhere to sleep.^®

The imagery of the treadmill, furthermore, implies a mechanical routine. Perhaps all our lives we are somehow on a 'treadmill? In the conditions of an industrial world dominated by the conveyor-belt, the treadmill is used in production lines and moving footways at airports and shopping centres, or the exercise machine, which is aimed at

J.B. Sykes ed, The Australian Concise Oxford Dictionary, seventh edition, Oxford University Press, Melbourne 1987, p. 1057. J, Healey ed, 'Homelessness', Issues in Society, vol. 243, 2006, p. 2 The article goes on to say, "hence, while those 'sleeping rough' are the most publicly recognises homeless, other groups are also of concern. These include people staying in shelters and refuges; people staying with family and friends to deal with a housing crisis; and some of those people renting in caravan parks and boarding houses." G, Orwell, Down and out in London and Paris. Penguin, London, 1974, p. 108. In this book George Orwell describes his life when he was homeless for a short period of time in Paris and London in the 1930's. It reveals the grim circumstances that homeless people had to face during the depression. He describes the way tramps had to travel to fmd a place to sleep "Tramps go far a field in summer, and in winter they circle as much as possible round the large towns, where it is warmer and there is more charity. But they have to keep moving, for you may not enter any one spike (homeless shelter), or any two London spikes, more than once in a month, on pain of being confined for a week." tackling weight loss for middle to upper class men and women. George Orwell in Down and out in London and Paris (1933) uses the imagery of the treadmill as he cynically describes the way the rich are forcing poor and working class people to do "stupid and largely unnecessary work" to create "enormous treadmills of boredom".^^ To be less harsh, however, there are many routines, including daily mundane activities, which are performed by all of us. Some of these are even enjoyable.

Both Robert Rauschenberg and Ed Keinholtz, have used the bed/mattress as icons to

make sculptures, "seeded with puns and quirks of meaning".^^ These sculptures comment on the culture we live in and the restlessness of the destitute masses. Rauschenberg's Bed (1955) is a bed that is mounted on the wall, consisting of a pillow and an American quilt. The pillow and quilt have been covered in layers of splattered paint that is cracked in parts. To me this work is a type of relic of a bad dream or a symbol of social decay.

Keinholtz's State Hospital (1966) consists of a wrought iron bunk bed, with two human like faceless figures, lying in a foetal position strapped to the bed. There is a neon light that is in the shape of a thought bubble. The thought bubble is coming from the figure on the bottom bunk and circles around the figure on the top bunk, perhaps suggesting that the figure on the bottom bunk is thinking of how it would be better of to be on the top bed. This is a useless thought as they are in the same miserable condition. This work, whilst being grotesque in its representation of human conditions, looks at the way institutions alienate and dehumanise people.^^

Bed and State Hospital are two works that incorporate everyday objects and artistic elements such as paint and sculpted forms. These works both use a bed to illustrate situations that exist in our community. Instead of representing restful sleeping, which a bed normally represents, they portray a nightmarish and uncomfortable situation.

G, Orwell, Down and out in London and Paris. Penguin, London, 1974, p. 108. 32 Hughes, R, The Shock of the New. Thames and Hudson, London 1996, p. 335. D Anfam, Keinholtz. BALTIC, Gateshead in association with the Museum of Contemporary Art, Sydney, 2005, p. 10-11. Image 3

Sleepwalking (2003) Image 4 Sleepwalking (2003) Detail of sculpture when operating. User Pays (2006)

"I had been in London innumerable times, and yet till that day I had never noticed one of the worst things about London - the fact that it costs money even to sit down.

George Orwell, Down and out in London and Paris (1933).

User Pays (see image 5 & 6) is an outdoor work consisting of a parking meter that is located next to an existing park bench. The machine suggests that the viewer must purchase a ticket to use this public utility. There is a range of different rates; these include a day-time rate of $1.00 per hour, a sunset rate of $2.50 per hour and a night rate of $1.50 per hour. These rates and times are indicated on the façade of the machine, which also includes instructions on how to make the payment. Once payment is made a ticket is printed out, showing the date and time, the expiry time, and the title of the sculpture (see image 7).

This work has been exhibited only once at the 2006 Sculpture by the Sea exhibition. The parking meter was situated beside an existing park bench, on a sheltered part of the walkway, running between Bondi and Tamarama Beaches. The park bench offered spectacular views overlooking the coastal cliff walk, and the ocean beaches. The money that was collected from the machine was donated to the Matthew Talbot Hostel and the total amount collected during the exhibition was $1,394.00. The money is to be used for a number of art and recreation activities at the Talbot.

A typical image of homelessness is of a homeless person lying on a park bench. My work suggests that this would be an acceptable practice as long as they paid for the time. This displacement of function is intentionally ironic, as public freedom is eroded and replaced with controls and exclusion zones. Further, a homeless person is unlikely to have the money for a ticket.

G, Orwell, Down and out in London and Paris. Penguin, London, 1974, p. 137. 19 In this work I examine the subtle ways that certain groups privatise public space, for particular commercial and profitable uses. The title, User Pays, implies that the park bench is only available for those who can afford to use it. In creating a new 'commercial zone' it excludes members of the public who cannot afford extravagances such as a park bench. This highlights the way in which Australia has moved into a more 'user pays' society. This is demonstrated by the selling off of public services to commercial operators, the introduction of full fees for tertiary education, privatisation of health services by the state, the creation of 'mega' shopping malls and large exclusive residential areas by property developers.

There are a number of examples of the way Sydney's public space has been changed due to privatisation. It can been seen that the deindustrialisation of inner city suburbs, previously inhabited by the poor industrial working class, and the subsequent property boom has lead to large redevelopments of a number of areas in Sydney. At the same time (whether as a cause or a consequence), we see a change in the use and ownership of public space. Areas such as Surry Hills, Kings Cross and Woolloomooloo (where the Matthew Talbot is located) have been redeveloped and 'improved' or in today's jargon, gentrified. The Woolloomooloo and Kings Cross redevelopment that occurred in the 1970's was conducted in a particularly malicious and corrupt way. As journalist Wendy Bacon recounts in a recent interview on ABC radio, many of the houses on Victoria Street were boarding houses occupied by low income and elderly people. Tenants were forced out. Activists who reported these allegations, like Jack Mundy, were threatened and sent death threats. One activist, Junita Nelson disappeared, and is presumed murdered.^^ This is just one example of the way people are forcibly evicted from their homes and left with not many options and may end up living on the streets. Well established communities were broken up and public welfare agencies became increasingly important. There is now a stark contrast between the new wealthy residences and the old ones and there are many who still live in Government housing in Woolloomooloo. Rosalyn Deutsche argues in her book Evictions; Art and Spatial Politics (1998), that "Today's homeless are, therefore, refugees from evictions, secondary and exclusionary displacement - the conversion of their neighbourhoods into areas nobody can afford".^^ She goes on to describe the way that public space, in

R, Feidler, Interview, The Conversation Hour', ABC Radio AM702. Internet, http://www.abc.net.au/queensland/conversations/stories/s 1832944.htm?sydney. (13.2.07) R, Deutche, Evictions: Art and Spatial politics. The MIT Press, Massachusetts, 1998, p. 54. her case New York, has been privatised by the selling off of public land. "Private public space is widely celebrated as an innovative partnership between the public and private sectors - erroneously supposed to be distinct spheres."^^ In my sculpture I suggest a similar and ridiculous partnership between the parking meter and the park bench.

The use of the familiar payment system, the 'Pay and Display' parking meter, tries to stir a sense of recognition or a sense of the familiar to the viewer. Extensively used by municipal councils, parking meters provide millions of dollars in revenue. Many people resent parking meters, especially those that are located in more densely populated residential areas that coincide as popular destinations for tourists, shoppers, and visitors (see image 8). These include the city centre, Bondi, Leichhardt, Newtown and Paddington. Often the parking rates are very high as are the penalties for non- payment. This is often for commercial reasons to force people to park in shopping malls that have free parking so that they will shop there. With this work installed in Sculpture by the Sea (2006), parking meter has been attached to a humble park bench, which has 'million dollar views' carrying with it its inherent language and negative public perception.

Deutche, Evictions: Art and Spatial politics. The MIT Press, Massachusetts, 1998, p. 57. 21 Image 5 User Pays (2006) Image 6 User Pays (2006) Image 7

User Pays (2006)

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Common Objects on Common Grounds

Everyday objects have been designed for an almost infinite number of purposes, functions and needs. Applications include recreational, ornamental, religious, artistic, domestic and industrial. Whatever the object may be, it contains "within itself a visual, material, and conceptual reference to multiple technologies, histories and temporalities".^^

In my practice I primarily focus on everyday objects. Through the juxtaposition of the functions and forms of everyday objects, I use irony to challenge social expectations and commercial/public values. I make or select objects, such as rubbish skips, suitcases, parking meters, beds, caravans and ladders to create absurdities. Often for economic and social reasons, I have found objects that have been discarded and left on the street or in the tip and recycle them as art works. It is through these objects and by subverting their obvious functions that I hope to demonstrate my investigation of the social inequalities of travel and mobility of both privileged and marginalised peoples, which I have outlined in Section I.

In this section I want first, to outline the inherent language and memory of an object and how it can be conceptually and aesthetically used to view and review contemporary society. Second, I look at the establishment of 'the everyday object' in earlier art movements of the century showing how these works criticised western society at a time when it was going through significant changes. Third, I discuss how Contemporary German art became so important to my practice. Considering that a lot of my ideas and influences have been based on the Australian culture and vernacular, I show how my time in Germany helped me to develop an artistic style that I have been able to incorporate with my ideas and concerns about Australian history and culture. In particular, I discuss the work of Professor Eberhard Bosslet, whom I studied under in Dresden, to show how he interprets the everyday in his sculptures and installations.

Cerny, S. SerifF, Recycled Re Seen: Folk art from the global scrap heap. Museum of International Folk Art, 1996, p. 10. Fourth, I discuss specific works to show how I have used the language of the everyday, to make my sculptures.

Objects have many cultural, historical and even religious qualities of function. These may range from the way we eat our food, either with a knife and fork or with chopsticks; to the way we travel, either with a bicycle or in a car. Many objects have a "different lifespan" and different "degrees of permanence or disposability'.^^ This can be seen from the short lifetime of a paper cup, to the longer life of a reusable ceramic mug, which may have qualities other than the function of holding liquid, such as decorative, symbolic or historical. The mug and the paper cup are objects that contain their own memory, language and value. Most objects from the ceramic mug to the wooden ladder can "shift and slide across geographic and socio-economic boundaries of class, caste, and culture throughout the world".^® This broad interpretation of everyday objects is important in the discussion of the artistic practice of using objects to comment on contemporary issues.

Historically, many objects have been transformed from their original form and function to create a new object with a similar or different purpose. Artists have employed the use of the everyday object to conceptually shift artistic ways of representation. During the early part of the century, European artists' were reacting to political and social instabilities in Europe, and particularly Germany, after World War I. The growth of industrial cities and massive social dislocation, created a shift in traditional ways of life and, as a result, changes in forms of artistic representation. Artists began using everyday and discarded objects in their works. William Tucker says in his book The Language of Sculpture (1974); "If one word captures the aspirations of modernism from about 1870 until the Second World War, it is surely the object".Artists such as Duchamp and Schwitters made sculptural collages out of the everyday. They were attempting to criticise the rise of the - no longer 'ascetic' but consumerist - Bourgeois class and their new "utopia" of an allegedly mechanical age.^^ Tucker goes on to say "...on the pretext of a reconstruction of reality, and the declared rejection of all the familiar elements of traditional painting and

39 Ed C. Cerny, S. Seriff, Recycled Re Seen: Folk art from the global scrap heap. Museum of International Folk Art, 1996, p. 10. Ibid, p, 10. 41 W. Tucker, The Language of Sculpture. Thames and Hudson, London, 1974, p. 107. B. Murphy, Humpty Dumpty s Kaleidoscope: A New Generation of German Artists. Museum of Contemporary Art, Sydney, 1992 - 1993, p. 15. sculpture, the range and vocabulary of sculpture was enormously enriched".^^ Artists have referred to this vocabulary of the object' for almost a century.

Artist Claes Oldenburg has used the language of objects to make large public artworks. In using mundane objects his works have shifted from the 'high seriousness' of public art from traditional figurative sculptures seen in war memorials, to large exaggerated common objects such as baseball bats, and washing pegs. Harriet Senie in her book Contemporary Public Sculpture (1992) explains "Claes Oldenburg tried to rejuvenate the monumental tradition by focusing on decidedly humble, non-heroic objects"^'^. This less formal and monumental aesthetic that Oldenburg adopted was a more "ironic or humorous style that strips the genre of its authoritarian stance and tone of high seriousness". Similarly I do not want to be didactic about understanding the causes and the stigma of homelessness and displacement. I don't want to dictate the terms under which I think homeless people should live. However, I look critically at commonly held opinions and perceptions by using 'instantly recognisable' and universal objects, which require human recognition or 'identification'. I agree with Senie when she says that 'humble' objects, "as expressions of materialism in a secular society, imply that our commonality lies in shared objects rather than ideas or ideals".'^^ Shared objects may give rise to constructive and civil dialogue across all our differences.

As mentioned earlier, I was influenced by early century German movements, due to their "engagement of a language built through the structures of late Modernity".^® This included the Berlin Dadaists and the Bauhaus movement. I then became interested in new contemporary German styles, in particular art post-1989. This period is marked by great change in social and political structures with the unification of East and West Germany. More importantly, as noted by Bernice Murphy, in Humpty Dumpty's Kaleidoscope: A New Generation of German Art, contemporary German artists "insist on an awareness of the new social and industrial frameworks within which objects are now made and our experience of them conditioned"."^"^ This can be seen in the works of

W. Tucker, The Language of Sculpture. Thames and Hudson, London, 1974, p. 116. H. Senie, Contemporary Public Sculpture. Oxford University Press, 1992, p. 50. « Ibid p. 57. B. Murphy, Humpty Dumpty's Kaleidoscope: A New Generation of German Artists. Museum of Contemporary Art, Sydney, 1992 - 1993, p. 17. " Ibid p. 17. Rebecca Hörne and Eberhard Bosslet, who create works that extend and intervene with the built environment and everyday systems.

From 2004 to the beginning of 2005 I studied at the Academy of Art, Dresden,under the mentorship of Professor Eberhard Bosslet. His works use a mixture of domestic and industrial objects to create 'Interventions with the architecture of the built environment. He creates absurd structures and installations that become support mechanisms for buildings, from the floor to the ceiling or from wall to wall. He uses steel pipe ceiling-supports together with tables and filing cabinets, for example Anmassend I (1987). He also uses pneumatic cushions strapped to manhole covers or to pillars; which he calls "support measures".^^ His work has helped me explore the pragmatic potency of the juxtapositions of domestic or industrial objects. This is more evident in my works such as Temporary Displacement (2004) and Unsteady Work (2005), which I will talk about in more detail later in this section.

All in all, I believe that my time studying in Germany helped me to identify many more different ways of engaging with the everyday, and a more sophisticated language by combining everyday and mundane objects. Germany has had a strong and often violent history of social change. From the Fascist Nazi regime before and during World War II and communist government of East Germany after the war, I saw the more recent modest' socialist parties of post communist times. German artists have responded to these changes to make politically charged works. To further examine these ideas I will discuss those of my works that have responded to these influences and research.

Hochscule für Bildende Künste, Dresden. R. Steckler, Eberhard Bosslet Heidelberg Kunstverein, Heidelberg, 1987, p. 6. 29 In Transit (2003)

In Transit (see image 9) consists of four old suitcases, ranging in different sizes. Their surface is coated with a glossy exterior varnish giving them a bright colourful sheen. Attached to the sides of the suitcases are bicycle wheels. These four cases are linked together with chains and are arranged from largest to smallest. They are reminiscent of rows of shopping trolleys with coin operated chains to prevent theft. The title suggests that these bags are in a 'no mans land' or in transition from purpose and place.

The suitcase is a very recognisable and universal object. Its simple function is to carry our belongings when we travel, and therefore references possessions, mobility, and portability. The suitcase can also carry memories of past travels. Today we have sophisticated suitcases on the consumer market, with light aluminium retractable handles, hard cases and small rubber wheels; they are highly desirable travel products. These designs are to aid the frequent traveller, reducing the burden of the suitcase. This sculpture subtly contradicts this notion of the travel 'aid' as these modifications are absurd and makeshift in their construction. They lack any practical application.

'In transit' or in transition from one place to another, does not apply only to those who are travelling on a passage or a route, they can also suggest a change in circumstances. The Matthew Talbot Hostel is indeed a place where people are 'in transit', where men fmd temporary shelter due to changes in their situations. The Talbot has a luggage room where clients can store their possessions, similar to an airport or a train station. I noticed from my time there that a number of the cases in the luggage room have been modified to adapt to the city landscape and outdoor living. For example extra wheels had been added for extra manoeuvrability, and tarpaulins for wet weather conditions.

This sculpture that is on wheels, plays with our conventional experience of bicycles and luggage. Marcel Duchamp's, Bicycle Wheel (1913) was one of the first artists to assemble two unlikely objects together in a seemingly non-sensical way. In this work, Duchamp has placed the bicycle wheel on top of a stool. This absurdist combination transformed both objects into the realm of art. At that time, this was a radical shift in traditional sculpture.^^

Australian artist Symrin Gill has employed the use of wheels in a similar and humorous way in her work Roadkill (2000) This work consists of many car flattened pieces of detritus such as cans, bottle tops, combs, cards, broken glass and cups. Each individual piece of flat rubbish has small toy-like wheels attached. These small mobile objects are placed in ordered rows on the ground, resembling a heard of small animals. This work looks at discarded waste, playfully mobilising the smallest piece of rubbish to resemble a toy. She has combined two very common and mundane elements to criticise western cultures over consumption and abundance of waste.^^

Both these artists have used wheels and juxtaposed them with other objects that do not belong together. They have, however, discovered a new relationship between these objects, which may have a narrative, such as Gill's work, where one could imagine the rubbish is 'on the move' and will drive away. Or as in Duchamp's work, where he undermines practical norms of function provoking a tongue-in-cheek attack on society and the art world. With my work In Transit, I am juxtaposing notions of travel and portability by developing the relationship between the suitcase and bicycle wheels and suggesting an extreme possibility that lacks any practical application.

.<> .1. Mink, Duchamp. TASCHEN, Köln, 2000, p. 49. r ' W. Tunnicliffe, 'Self SelectionSimryn Gill. Selected Work, Art Gallery of NSW, Sydney, 2002, p. 10- Image 9 In Transit (2003) Itinerary/Itinerant (2004)

This large out-door sculpture is a spiralling stack of suitcases, which is approximately five meters tall. There are different varieties of old suitcases, which are stacked according to size and colour. This sculpture has been exhibited in two different locations. In 2004 it was exhibited in the Helen hempriere National Sculpture Award in

Werribee Park, Victoria (see image 10), and in 2005 it was exhibited in Circular Quay, Sydney for Art and About (see image 11). The different locations offered a different reading of the work, due to the relationship with the differing public environments. The first was a formal English garden setting in country Victoria, the other was situated in the built environment in the heart of Sydney, close to the international passenger shipping terminals and ferry terminal.

The title Itinerary/Itinerant refers to the dual nature of travelling; those who have a purpose to their journey and those who are unsettled and constantly on the move looking for work.^^ The unifying element between these two types of travel is what we take with us, our baggage. For some people their suitcase and its contents is all they have. As I previously mentioned in the description of In Transit the suitcase has an inherent language of travel and possessions. Sometimes this object can be romanticised as each case has a journey and a memory. Or more annoyingly when one's suitcases are misplaced at airports. However, this work is not to be a representation of possessions more a gesture to those who travel, for whatever reason.

This work also connects the consumerist desire for travel with the accumulation of suitcase. Most of these cases were found in rubbish stacks by the sides of the road. The process of accumulating these objects and arranging them in such a way is, I believe, far more powerful than the object itself French artist Arman refers to this as the "Aesthetic arrangement of (everyday) objects".^^ Arman uses the identity and abundance of objects to construct and arrange sculptures that are conceptual in their content, providing simple visual puns or complex and abstract figures. Arman says, "As

52G.A. Wilkes ed, Collins English Dictionary. Collins, 1986, Sydney, p. 810. The words itinerant and itinerary are located next to each other in the dictionary. Their definitions are: Itinerant "1. Itinerating. 2. Working for a short time in various places, esp as a casual laborers. 3. arn itinerant worker or other person, itinerary: "1. a plan or line of travel; route. 2. a record of a journey. 3. a guide book for travellers.4. of re lating to travel routes of travel. 5. a less common word for itinerant." ' Arman, Gallery Enrico Navarra, 1997, Turin, p. 80 a witness of my society, I have always been very much involved with the pseudobiological cycle of production, consumption, and destruction. And for a long time, I have been anguished by the fact that one of its most conspicuous materials is the flooding of our world with junk and rejected old objects".

The way the cases have been arranged in a spiral shape highlights and reaffirms the notion of journey. The spirals of suitcases resemble a spiral staircase, as it rises from the ground and ascends gracefully into the air (see image 12). The journey could be both upwards or downwards.

Arman, Gallery Enrico Navarra, 1997, Turin, p. 60. 34 Image 10

Itinerary/Itinerant (2004) Image 11

Itinerary/Itinerant (2004) Image 12

Itinerary/Itinerant (2004) Detail of sculpture. Temporary Displacement (2004)

Temporary Displacement (see image 13 & 14) [-ein schwimmhad-) consists of a rubbish skip, normally used on building or industrial sites, which has been converted into a swimming pool. The skip is tiled on the inside with an aqua colour called 'Soft Azure'. The skip-swimming pool also has a typical pool ladder attached to the outside and on the inside has a water depth signs, as one would find in public swimming pools. Its external quality, except for the ladder, remains as the normal rusty container, typical of skips as they stand waiting to accept garbage and building debris, before being hoist away onto a truck, emptied out and re-used.

Temporary Displacement was made whilst I was in Dresden and was influenced by Bosslet's idea of the intervention of industrial and domestic objects. The mobile rubbish container, with its lowly status and unkempt appearance, is compared to the luxury item of a swimming pool, with many functions, such as idle recreation, fitness routines, and ecological problems of water usage and chemicals for cleaning. The title refers to the displacement of form, function and of water.

Dresden is a city that was virtually destroyed from the allied bombing in February 1945. After World War II Dresden became part of the former Eastern Germany (GDR- German Democratic Republic). It was rebuilt with Soviet style architecture, designed to universally accommodate the proletariat class. Unfortunately these apartment blocks resemble very grim concrete rectangular slabs and they were built by using the materials from the destroyed building, as there was no money for new resources. I lived in this style of apartment during my time there. In 1989 East Germany was unified with West Germany, and its communist economy and society slowly became democratic and embraced capitalism. At present the city is still being renewed and integrated with 'the west'. Many old soviet apartment blocks are being renovated and gentrified, to accommodate new tastes for luxury and consumerist goods. In some way Temporary Displacement reflects these changes. The association of the rusty skip exterior that has been renovated to luxury recreational status on the inside.

This work has been exhibited four times in different sites, firstly in Dresden, then in jJiree different locations in Australia. Each site offers a new reading, and perhaps a new 38 cultural absurdity. For example, when Temporary Displacement was in the 2005 Sculpture by the Sea exhibition, it was situated on Tamarama beach. This is in a wealthy coastal suburb in Sydney, where many residences have private swimming pools. The work added to the debate at the time about domestic swimming pools and the water crisis. Waverley Council's Councillor George Copeland, argued in 2005 to reduce the number of domestic swimming pools built in the area. He said, "Pools require significant quantities of fresh water, (they) reduce the area for stormwater permeability and take up valuable garden space". He went on to say that "All parts of Waverley are within easy reach of beaches and ocean pools and the need for domestic swimming pools is less acute than in Western SydneyTemporary Displacement highlighted the notion of the waste of water, through its symbolism of the rubbish skip exterior. Also the work's modest body of water compared to that of the ocean.

T. Dick, 'Winds of change for air-cons', Sydney Morning Herald, internet, smh.com.au, 18/4/05, accessed (4/l/07 at 12:11pm). Image 13 Temporary Displacement (2004) Image 14

Temporary Displacement (2004) Unsteady Work (2006)

This work is part of a series of sculptures that are aimed at subverting functionality, in this case, the ladder. Unsteady Work (see image 15 & 16) is a series of three wooden double-sided ladders that have been modified by attaching rockers to their base. They range in different sizes from small, medium to large. Unlike my previous sculptures where I combined existing everyday or second hand objects, I constructed these sculptures from scratch. To make these works I learnt wood joinery techniques in a carpentry course. By making the objects, instead of using found objects, I have been more deliberate in my intention. In making a series of three in different sizes, I make the objects look like they are a product range, which could be purchase in a shop. The idea behind this apparently simple manipulation is to play on the functionality, language and purpose of the ladder.

I have also developed this work into a large-scale sculpture, made from aluminium. Exploring the possibility of creating a more industrial looking rocking ladder. It is to be exhibited in the 2007 Helen Lempriere National Sculpture Award (see image 17).

Unsteady Work is a sculpture that reinvents the ladder into an absurd utilitarian problem. The idea behind this apparently simple manipulation is to play on the functionality and purpose of the ladder. By using a mundane utilitarian object like the ladder, I make it seem dysfunctional with the use of the rockers, which are normally associated with leisure, for example a rocking horse or rocking chair. This sculpture creates a solution to a task that is very precarious and possibly hazardous and has as yet not been invented. It is a relaxed working object to solve a different set of functions from those normally associated with coping in everyday life.

The title Unsteady Work, comments on a more political level, about the unsteady nature of the labour force and work. With the introduction of new industrial reforms and individual contracts, forced redundancies, and the lack of full time positions in favour of more casual forms of work, there is more uncertainty in the labour force. This instability is represented in my sculpture by the rockers, that render a once utilitarian object, unsteady and unable to work. This reaffirms the many difficulties in climbing the ladder of success. Towards the end of my studies in Germany, Bosslet advised me to research the work of Allan Wexler's. His practice lies between art and architecture, and has influenced my Unsteady Work sculptures. His works explore human activity and the built environment, investigating methodologies of communication through structures, objects and environments. He states that, ... "an architect is a problem solver, an artist is a problem creator". He creates sculptures and design prototypes which are practical contradictions, containing irony and humour. Wexler says that "humour loosens me up and helps me break through preconceptions.. .There are juxtapositions that become unknowingly humorous."^® I have also used similar juxtaposition between objects and their intended function, and used visual puns, sometimes initiated in the title of the works. Similarly they may become humorous to some, as they can be ironic in their new context, such as an unstable ladder.

This research into Wexler's practice will be the next stepping-stone in my practice. I will be visiting Wexler as part of a residency in New York for six months in 2007. It will be an opportunity to see first hand some of the social concerns that Krzysztof Wodiczko had and to visualise his works in context with the landscape. I will also see first hand some of Wexler's installations.

' c Scoates, D. Wilbur, Custom Built: A Twenty - Year survey of work by Allan Wexler. Atlanta i M^icge of Art and City Gallery at Chastain, Atlanta, 1999, p. 138. 43 Image 15 Unsteady Work 1 (2005) Image 16 Unsteady Work 3 (2005) Image 17 Unsteady Work (2007)

. r i- Rocktools (2005)

Rocktools (see image 18) is a series of hardware tools that have been manipulated in a very simple way. I have replaced the handle of common hardware tools with granite stones that were collected from a beach on the Central Coast of New South Wales. The tools that I used were a set of screwdrivers, two handsaws, a measuring tape, chisel, spanner, drill bit and a hammer. The tools, with their new handles, are arranged on a large pegboard normally seen in workshops.

This work aims to be a simple contrast of utilitarian objects. It involves a humorous juxtaposition between, one the round granite stones, freely available natural objects that are incredibly tough and probably thousands of years old, that have been smoothed and shaped by natural forces, and two, the century tools that were purchased from the discount tubs at Bunnings^"^ for a price. In manipulating the common hardware tool with its earlier predecessor the 'stone' as the handle, I combine two technologies into absurd objects.

Setting the work on a pegboard as seen in workshops, demonstrates a secondary relationship with the functional and the workplace. They are tidily lined up and ready to be used again. However, placed in a gallery space, the viewer may have reaction that the stones are on display, as in a Natural Science Museum, and even think about how early tools were made. But the more the work is considered, the more utilitarian it appears, for example the measuring tape expands and retracts (see image 19) and the hammer and screw drivers are still functional.

This work shows a shift away from my large and bulky works previously discussed. This work even when set up on the pegboard is relatively small and the tools themselves are small functional items albeit with stone handles - something that simply would not be found in today s plastic and disposable age.

5 ' Bunning is a chain of hardware stores in Australia. 47 Image 18 Rocktools (2005) Image 19

Rocktools (2005) Detail of measuring tape. Conclusion

My MFA project, Moving House: The Renovation of the Everyday has been developed over the past five years, which included a year in Dresden. My aim in this project was to look at issues of homelessness, social inequalities, possession, public space and mobility. These topics are very broad and are inter-related in many different ways. To highlight these issues and position my practice within these debates, I have made sculptures that use the language of'everyday' through the use of common objects and human use. I have done this by juxtaposing their functions, displacing their locations and accumulating discarded objects. This approach has been influenced by a number of artists who have developed the 'language' of everyday objects within their own artistic practice, and by my experiences with diverse social groups.

In Section One I discussed a number of social problems of homelessness and poverty in urban Australia. Looking at definitions and statistics from sociologists and theorists, I showed the complex nature of homelessness. There are many different reasons why people find themselves out of work, sleeping in shelters or living in caravan parks. In developing a better understanding of these situations I worked at the Matthew Talbot Hostel. The motivation behind this was to give art workshops, and as a result I got to hear clients' stories. My aim in Section I was to show how my ideas have addressed a number of debates connected with homelessness, and how my practice has developed these themes. As examples I discussed two works, the first was Sleepwalking, which looked at problems of finding shelter and somewhere to sleep, by suggesting that our lives are in constant motion, like being on a treadmill. The second work, User Pays, focused on the way people have been displaced and evicted by redevelopment, and the commercialisation of public space. This makes it inaccessible for those who cannot pay.

Section Two locates my practice within a history of artistic representation using the everyday object, as a critique, and reviews dramatic social and political changes from industrial and commercial forces at the end of the century. Here I also outlined my link with contemporary practice in Germany, and how working under Professor Bosslet shifted my focus more toward the functions of industrial and domestic objects. I first discussed In Transit and Itinerary/Itinerant as works that looked the language of the journey, possession and mobility through the use of old suitcases. Second, I discussed Temporary Displacement, as it was a work that was developed during my 50 time in Germany and focused on shifting the contrast of the luxury/recreational with the industrial and waste-management. Third, I analysed the series of wooden sculptures that I made, called Unsteady Work, which reveals a shift in my art making and ideas influenced by Allan Wexler. Here I was concerned with reversing the problem solving' attitudes of designers by instead creating the problem. Lastly, Rocktools, is a work that blurs the boundaries between a workshop and a geology museum with the use of granite stones as the handles for cheap household tools. The objects are displayed on a pegboard as if ready to be used, breaking the traditions of normal galleries rules of look but don't touch'.

As the title suggests I have focused on Moving House, whether by force or by choice, and The Renovation of The Everyday, as a language to discuss serious social issues such as homelessness and displacement, confronting Australian society today. Bibliography

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