Taking a little break from uni life, I traveled to the heart of the city, specifically to a wondrous place called the Museum of Brisbane. I wasn't there by accident, though. I friend of mine informed me of a fun workshop that was a component of well-known Filipino artist duo Alfredo and Isabel Aquilizan's upcoming exhibition called the "In-Habit Project." The show, which would be part of the BAD (Brisbane Art and Design Festival), is actually a touring exhibition that features an interactive art installation composed of an array of miniature, cardboard houses created by workshop participants and eventually, gallery walk-ins once the show opens to the public.
Since I arrived relatively early, I had some time to explore the ongoing exhibitions. The first thing that greeted me the moment I walked into the main gallery was this painting by Australian artist Gordon Bennett. I absolutely fell in love with it! I like how it juxtaposes incredibly modern graphics with aboriginal elements. The painting, entitled Home Decor (Preston + De Stijl=Citizen) The Cat, was such a peculiar name for a painting that I just had to look it up. Apparently, the artwork was just one piece from a series called Home Decor (Preston + De Stijl=Citizen). The series, according to this article is a rather "loaded" one in that it's mean is far from the whimsical appeal it initially has.
One of the main current exhibitions on display was the Micro Histories show which was co-curated with Cameron Bruhn (Head of Architecture at the University of Queensland). According to the Museum of Brisbane's website, the exhibition 'celebrates the work of Brisbane architects and the inspiration that they find in the environment, community and history of the city.' (Museum of Brisbane 2019, p. 2).
The piece that stood out the most for me was the conceptual tombstone design of the Gordon Bennett Memorial by Kevin O'Brien Architects. I love how they took the concept of the finite and infinite effects of memory for the memorial by creating a clever optical illusion using mirrors whose configuration is akin to that of a periscope laid on its side (I daresay The Wizard of Oz himself would've loved this!).
Now, on to the workshop! Claudia (who coincidentally is a QCA alumnus) facilitated the workshop and sat with us as we all went on to craft our little masterpieces out of cardboard, tape and hot glue. I admit, it was a bit difficult for me at first since this was a "freestyle" sort of exercise and I was so used to following a set of instructions when working on projects (it didn't help that the guy seated next to me was a professional architect lol). I eventually got the hang of it and followed the lead of two young boys who were building their forts with their mum. I initially wanted to create a Bahay Kubo-style house, a traditional Filipino dwelling, but make it "different." I ended up making this strange, prison-cell looking thing instead.
It wasn't exactly what I had in mind but it would have to do since I was out of time. According to Claudia, all the works would be collected and fused together into one, big installation that would resemble a colony of sorts.
At the end of the workshop, we all felt quite accomplished and excited for the show to open in May. Apart from the "artistic fulfillment", the session made me realise a couple of things:
Starting ANYTHING is always the hardest and scariest part. One of my favorite quotes is from Warm Bodies author Isaac Marion: "What wonderful thing didn't start out scary.
"I know that as a designer, I should have a clear cut process in creating things HOWEVER, of equal importance is the ability to break free of the process sometimes and just go with the flow to go beyond limits and explore endless possibility. This is essential in our being human. I somehow think that this is something Natasha Jen would say.
Sometimes we need to be child-like (NOT childish) in order to ignite creativity and realize our full creative potential. Children have the tendency to dive into anything without much thought and preconceived notions, a talent that many adults have lost in the process of growing up.
Just one of hopefully many, this museum experience proved to be the perfect break for me. Not only did it give me a sense of Brisbane city's beautiful and well-kept history and rich past, but it also opened my mind to a world of creative possibility as well.
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