REASONS WE GO ANYWHERE WITH ART
Sally Guilford’s visions of nature are a hopeful experience that puts the viewers on path to understanding the various layers of our beautiful earth, if only we give the time to honour and respect the language it chooses to speak… all in complete silence.
‘Wild Vacancies’ is a testament for Anywhere Festival, genuinely proving the effective concept of non-conventional spaces for art. The walk begins at the industrial buildings of The Paint Factory. Yet to undergo its metamorphosis, the venue holds the elegance and posture that only a building of this scale and mechanism can hold. I had the opportunity to walk through the space and witness the vision and powerful possibilities for future creatives. The prospect for artistic exploration, perhaps almost intimidating, is a great example of a well thought-out integration and partnership between the venue and the festival.
What can be described as a performed experience, begins with a guided warm-up, like actors preparing for the stage, reasonable, after all we are the ones immersing into a mini yatra. At this point Guilford explains that the concept has already been shown in Darwin and Melbourne and we understand that each experience is unique to its location. It is asked that we vow silence and absorb all that surrounds us, including sounds of cars and other people, as this is also part of what we are immersing into.
The experience was unique, maybe not for everyone, but it holds its difference with assurance. The viewers are taken on a promenade to closely see and read the nature we encounter, generated in vision and sound, touching the smoothness of trees, seeing the brightness of grass and listening to the simplicity of a small creek. A stable covers a large part of where we walk, where horses lightly linger, sit and graze and it is easy to embrace how nice things are when you notice them.
There is a moment when Guilford asks us to see the age and time of nature as we approach a mighty tree, how many years has it been around for and what has it lived through. This short, yet effective speech, was what seemed, a moment of rehearsed narrative. Proving very functional, that which was being spoken about, was in-front of us in real-time. I must admit, that because of seeing this, it was a bit disheartening that it was the only time this happened. I was left wondering about other moments of this sort, when I would be connecting to a character telling me a tale, but it never happened again. As it is an immersive live art encounter, the audience does not need to foster very much because what is in-front of us is what our guide is there to present. My thought is that it would have been a plus if the experience had more moments like the above, where a story was being told, saying when, where and what was around us.
I again remind myself that the strength and beauty of festival events like this, is that the unexpected does happen when you are anywhere. I think of this experience and how we, people, are all part of this together. It contemplates the reality of things like community, space, politics and with most relevance, global warming. Maybe a call to action or maybe a call to appreciate what we have while it’s still around. At the end of the walk, we sit on soft grass and I am handed a postcard from one of the mediators. I notice a note on the back and I am encouraged to think about things around me, as I read the message which notes ‘we invite you to breathe in… what do you smell?’.
Karlo Bran is lead tutor at Simple English
Wild Vacancies is on at The Paint Factory as part of Anywhere Festival
