HOME is a collaborative artwork developed with the Alice Springs community and presented as part of Digital Odyssey, a Museum of Contemporary Art touring project.
In HOME, individuals from diverse cultures and backgrounds share how personal histories and experiences have shaped their sense of ‘home’ and what remains important to them in defining this term.
Collectively, these video portraits remind us of a humanity common to all people and challenges each of us to look inward and reconcile our own notion of home.
The artwork is a timely contribution to the ongoing construction of the town's narrative. Recent media attention has focused attention upon negative aspects of the town's social geography and in response, hastily erected emergency lighting plants are now a feature of the town. With the re-announcement of $5M in funding for a CBD revitalisation project, Walsh's project demonstrates an alternative pathway: creating intercultural dialogue through a participatory art practice and, in the act of shining light into dark places, has created an attraction in place of measures designed to disperse people.
It doesn't take much imagination to appreciate the effect of multiplying this form of public art: the town could transform its nocturnal value proposition to become an attraction like no other.
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| The artwork will look toward the corner made famous by The Australian journalist Nicholas Rothwell in his article 'Destroyed in Alice' Feb 2011 |
Craig Walsh is best known for large-scale projections that utilise computer manipulated imagery and transform existing environments and contexts. By merging virtual and real spaces, his work encourages people to question their engagement with these sites.
This has led to the production of work in diverse locations including train lines, car parks,shop windows, galleries and historical architecture. He is especially interested in developing cross disciplinary and cultural collaborations.
Digital Odyssey is a two-year tour and artist residency, which brings Walsh's distinctive artwork to locations throughout the country. For this project, Walsh is travelling around Australia developing and presenting temporary large-scale public projection works that are responsive to regional history, local stories and the surrounding landscape.
HOME Alice Springs, is the ninth incarnation of the project as diverse communities respond to this concept across Australia. The participants from Alice Springs provide a new perspective on this concept, expressed through a strong awareness of how relationships, environment, culture and the political landscape influence there perspective on the place they call HOME.
This digital projection artwork represents an alternative to more traditional forms of Public art through its ability to engage community representation and expression which integrates and emerges out of the everyday urban environment.
HOME can be seen from dusk until 9:30pm from May 12-14 on the vacant block next to KFC in Todd Street.
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