Washboard Abbott

Moonshine Mac

Puppets

Due to the tiny project budget, I ended up painting, varnishing and rigging the puppets in the spare room of my share house. High on wood stain fumes and turps, I spent the days leading up to Christmas tripping over paint cans, stray guitars and the jagged corners of a futon sofa whilst trying to finish the puppets in time for Peats Ridge. 

Puppets in progress

Some photos documenting the first stage of construction for the Fiddle my Fiddle puppets created for Peats Ridge Festival 2011-2012. 

Femme Foetals x Hiromi Tango

Documentation of an interactive performance project conceived during a period of collaboration under the direction of MCA Primavera artist, Hiromi Tango from September - November 2011. In response to Tango's ongoing performance and installation project, Hiromi Hotel - Mixed Blood, my sister, Gabrielle, and I performed an absurd rebirthing ritual in the foyer of the Cleland Bond building, The Rocks, Sydney. 

Dressed in the guise of our alter-ego duo, The Femme Foetals, we used costume and performance to explore boundaries between mother/child and self/body. Inspired by the transformation of the body during pregnancy, and by simultaneous processes of growth and loss that are integral to childbirth, we performed a series of ritualised actions in which we attempted to embody states of becoming Other. 

The following images provide documentation of the costume development and performance rehearsal. 

Womb to Move: the Final Product

Some photos of the completed Womb to Move project. Poor light inside the womb chamber made the photos particularly grainy so some of the colours and exposure have been altered to make the interior elements more visible. In addition to the textural comforts of the chamber, womb visitors were also treated to the aural delights of a quietly trickling water feature and the soothing tones of smooth jazz played from speakers hidden within the sink unit.

Over the coming months, Womb to Move will be presented in a number of venues around Sydney accompanied by the Corporate Comfortizer, specially employed to meet all your comfort needs and daily anxiety issues.

Port-A-Womb in Progress (cont.)

Some photos of the work close to completion...By this stage of the construction my neck and back were constantly aching from craning to hand stitch the fabric bunches to the chamber's ceiling.

I also decided to add a gloriously tacky water feature, referencing the ambience of waiting rooms and hotel/nightclub bathrooms. Bought from Kmart for a steal at $12, I covered the original beige plastic structure with soft pink paint and several coats of glitter paint to finish it off. Truly hideous result.

interior in progress

almost finished

water feature

curtains

curtains detail