Who has the burden of sense making?

As a contemporary artist and museum professional, I was initially cynical about participating in this digital residency. My main concern was that I would, yet again, need to build relationships with community or risk existing relationships with Pacific people on behalf of the museum to gain some form of cultural capital, whilst managing the expectations of what Pacific community would get in return. I started working on the outside of museum collections as an artist. When I worked on the inside of a museum in Australia and engaged with Pacific community, I realised that I involuntarily brought the colonial baggage of the institution with me as an employee.

Trade Stories

In January 2018 I spent three weeks developing a new work on site at Testing Grounds in the City of Melbourne. Trade Stories was an invitation to listen and share the history of materials exchanged and traded between Pacific Islander and European people during the 19th Century. As artist in residence, I requested 'collective labour' to thread a vast amount beads to develop a site responsive work.

Papalum Varurung – Work Together

The email, an invitation to join her for an arts residency in Şile Turkey was by far one of the most unexpected blessings to be wished upon my arts journey. Şile is a coastal town north east of Istanbul. Şile historically is known for Bezi cotton fabric . Eddy said she was drawn to my work as there was an enquiry in what I was doing. This was a moment when the right people come into your life at the right time.