Subterranean

In the exhibition, Grounded, three artists addressed the local Brunswick urban environment through contemporary art as the 'ground' or site of the material inscription of geological, social and historical transactions. Inspired by historical photographs of housing perched on the precipitous edge of vast clay pits, further research using maps from a variety of sources over 90 years, revealed extensive mining of clay for the local brickworks and the subsequent use of these pits as rubbish dumps. Jennifer Lades' sculptural installation work, Subterranean, explores the unstable foundations of what is now Brunswick parkland. This work builds on a component of Lades' PhD research investigating how aerial maps reveal and conceal change. Material research into the making of the components of this installation involved lazer cutting of a scale map, showing the size and location of the clay pits, overlaid with clay discs made and fired by the artist at a local pottery works, exploring the materiality and technical skills required to work with clay. These discs were hand painted with the topographical details of the clay pits and the components theatrically framed with artificial turf. While historical research in urban environments frequently focuses on the built environment, this work draws attention to the physical reality of the landscape. Exhibiting this work in Brunswick revived interest in the influences that shaped the area, stimulated discussion and awareness of the legacy of past industry, building on the storytelling of the specificity of place as the interplay between the physical environment and social experience. This work is unique in its form, although parallels of expression of the urban landscape can be drawn with Melbourne artist Tom Nicholson (Monument for the flooding of Royal Park, 2008-10) and internationally, Canadians Janet Cardiff and George Bures Miller's storytelling sound and media walks (The City of Forking Paths, Sydney Biennale. 2014).