Author: Vanessa Barbay

Laomedia visual artist and drummer

Hill End Residency

This year I have scored a residency at Hill End around 5 hours away. I am staying in Haefliger’s cottage for 4 weeks. The former residence of painters Paul Haefliger and Jean Bellette the house is full of their books and pictures, etc. indicative of mid last century (Australia’s Modern period) that they left behind. In addition this history there is the 19th century Victorian era building and all its accompaniments indicative of the gold mining heyday in Hill End which saw the town develop and swell to include 28 pubs! Now there is one pub standing, the old Royal Hotel which has WIFI (hence it be my present location). Lunchtime is the best time to be here (more people) as nighttime is cold and deserted (residents cosy by their fires!). Have begun a photo journey (been here settling in since Sunday afternoon when Darren and I set up a shroud). On Monday I set up the sun-drenched studio (while Darren roamed the hills) and completed a portion of one of the wetland paintings for Sanctuary Point. Darren got the potbelly going in there so once the sun left it was still warm and I happily painted till bedtime. Today we have had brekky on the sunny front porch before wandering off into the hills exploring mine shafts and the remnants of a town now overgrown with Aussie Bush. It is something I have always dreamed, to see the bush reclaim a town. We then got a coffee at the local corner store run by a lovely fella of English origins and after walking to the museum for a look ended up here at the pub for chips and beer!

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Night Visions

Night Visions is a collaborative performing arts project installed at Siteworks 2016 Bundanon. The brainchild of Alicia Talbot who invited a mixture of artists to contribute their response to a car crash. A team of local young adults are involved too as performers working with some very experienced theatre gems and sound engineer extraordinaires not to mention the deep cultural knowledge of the country offered by David Little, a talented local culture man who was in the year below me at Shoalhaven High and who has been generously sharing some of his ancestral knowledge with me. He took me to a Bora Ring and sung the country alive at day break. I played clapsticks along with his didge playing and singing in language. He includes both Dharawal and Dhurga to respect the intermarriage between both language groups during the contact period and beyond. The images show team Night Visions, the Bundanon landscape and the discovery of the kangaroo shroud I installed last year during my residency that has nicely cured. His bones are also evident.

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See Change School Holiday Lantern workshop

Brad and Steve at the Men’s Shed helped me organise and run a lantern making and decorating workshop to encourage children to attend the See of Light lantern parade on for See Change 2016. Ladies from the Holiday care program worked with me to engage children in three activities: Organic cane lantern in a moon like shape, painting a readymade lantern with fabric paint, and bamboo box lanterns. It was a lively time with 23 primary school children of all ages involved in all types of problem solving and expressive activities like stripping bamboo poles, and cutting and joining materials with masking tape into 3D shapes. Covering shapes with baking paper was particularly daunting at times, while the fabric painting was pure painterly joy for all the kids, especially those who had first go at the paint tubes! The adult operated glue guns for a few tricky bits proved to be absorbing for the high energy roamers eager to experience new things. PHEW! Can’t wait for the next one in which children are painting 8″x8″ entries for the ‘Spaces, Places and Faces’ See Change competition. We may also have time to design some See Change festival posters for another competition.

Womboin Marine Relic Shroud Project

Today I drove the old Ford Falcon ute out to Sally’s place in Womboin to collect the fish and stingray shrouds on my lonesome. It was hot work and I was annoyed by the shadows created on the dried husks by the sun when documenting the process. Luckily clouds drifted in and I took some photos without the shadows. The mullet were still quite wet and smelly underneath but the stains were nice and rich. It was really difficult lifting the bedframes into the back of the ute on my own, and I had to leave the largest one there it was a two person job. I placed the husks in a crate for Sally to investigate for possible sculptural materials. I then drove on to Canberra to Adam’s place and gave the shrouds a vinegar bath. I then hung them out to dry in preparation for taking to Emma at ANU painting workshop for stretching tomorrow.

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Womboin Shrouds

Last Sunday Darren and I drove to Sally and Dave’s house to set up the marine relic shroud installation. It was very hot work. Summer has extended into Autumn thus far. It didn’t take long for the mullet to leak and the stingray and catfish were already part rotten when I collected them so it was smelly work as the sun beat down and flies of all sizes began to swarm. The dog also broke out of the yard in excitement at the smell of pungent sea life so far inland. It was lovely to catch up with Sally in her wonderful home as she worked diligently weaving detritus together in her kitchen full of wonderful art and collected pieces.

South Nowra Shrouds

Today Darren and I went to Pirate’s house and he took us to a property in South Nowra where we set up the shroud installation in a former pig house. The mother and baby possum were hit by a car on the road where I live and the swallow was waiting for me to find him at the door of the shop on the first day back at work after dad passed away. It was sprinkling at the site but the sun came out for just enough time to set up. The rain returned as we drove away.