Bin diving
I meet with Bevan Honey (he could only be Australian), an established artist who has shown extensively in Australia. He is also the residency co-ordiantor at the Arts Centre and shows me around. Bevan drives a Chrysler Valiant Safari which puts my $700 Toyota Crown to shame, tidy as it is. Classic cars are not treasured here like they are back at home (there are more of them for a start), still I am rather fond of the Crown and any vehicle that will attract such rowdy encouragement on the freeway has my vote.
Bevan shows me the studio that he has in mind for my project, the Green Shed Studio. It is much larger than anything I am used to, attached to the caretaker’s workshop and has an attractive, shady lawn surrounding it. There is a sunlit space behind the shed where I can leave work in progress, undisturbed by the morning sprinklers. There is also a warning sign stating that Redback spiders have been spotted in the area. The Redback is a poisonous beast, docile unless disturbed yet nevertheless a creature whose bite requires urgent medical attention. Having lived and worked on a cattle station for the last two months I am familiar with the Redback so know, thankfully, the kind of spaces she might be lurking in.
The impending residency feels more real than ever now, and I am in urgent need of materials. The next week or so I come across a fair amount of hard rubbish left out on the verge. In contacting Fremantle Council, I find that the following weekend there will be a hard rubbish drop off point a little drive out of town where a number of skips will be provided for residents to dump their unwanted goods. This opportunity is just what I am after and a happy Saturday is spent moseying around the skips plucking out bits of junk with potential.
Even if I dont use half of these things, there is something comforting about having stuff around you in the workspace. Ever cleared out your studio and sat between four blank walls on a floor that seems to stretch on forever and wondered what the dickens you are going to make now? I’ve been there. So, it’s nice to have some friends, albeit in the form of light fittings and flower pots.
