NightLight Art Activation took place on June 11th, 2021.
The aim of the NightLight art intervention was to invigorate the community amidst uncertain times. Little Malop Street in Central Geelong is home to many eclectic hospitality and specialty stores, alongside entertainment venues and bars who have sustained their businesses despite ongoing difficulties. Prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, the street has been a hub of vibrancy and cultural engagement in Geelong. This creative initiative symbolised resilience, optimism and support for the many businesses and broader community that have been impacted.
Proudly supported by Creative Occupation Collective, Omega Holistic and local partner businesses in Central Geelong, the evening featured intimate digital and live performance projects to enliven the streetscape.
We acknowledge the Wadawarrung People as Traditional Owners of the land upon which we gather as a creative community, Geelong/Djilang.
Symbiosis
Location: Footpath in front of Omega Holistic (89 Little Malop Street)
Artists: Michael Morgan & Marita Batna
In humanity’s early history, symbiosis with nature was the key element of survival and prosperity. In our deep psyche, we still consider ourselves to be a part of this process, but civilization has put us at extreme odds with the natural world. We need to re-evaluate our position in nature, rediscover lost knowledge, and nurture the natural world that the human body and mind are part of. There is always more beneath the surface: this light installation shows micro-environments contained in a fish tank in the forms of a human head – both constructed and natural, using glass, plastic, water, and air. The background projection reflects energy and growth.
Earthly Cinema
Location: The vacant space at 2 James Street (formerly Barwon Booksellers)
Artists: Local artists’ films, curated by Marita Batna
Dive into the creative realm of local video film productions to stimulate your eyes and ears. The program explores earthly experiences ranging from small and playful worlds to epic imaginations by screening five diverse avant-garde and experimental films made recently. Watch the program in 25 minutes and nominate your favorite film!
Program and credits:
1. Imaginarium of the Unknown Traveller. David King, 2020
2. Rolling Glass. Film Abstraction by Jennifer McElwee, 2021 – Premiere
3. Uncharted. Michael Morgan, 2021 – Premiere
4. Island Pilgrimage. Ingrid Petterson, 2020 (film by Michael Morgan)
5. Hidden Realities. Michael Morgan, 2020
Life Support
Location: Improvised street performance- starting at Omega Holistic (89 Little Malop Street)
Artist: Ingrid Petterson
A life support meditative survival walk. The Life Support entity has been monitoring Earth and its humans, watching the spirit of the planet and its inhabitants dulling, fading, fighting for air.
The Life Support entity has arrived to explore, gather data, gift its wisdom and offer breath to the occupants and the occupied.
Hands-on, after the distance
Location: Inside Omega Holistic (89 Little Malop Street)
Artist: Jessica Laraine Williams
Hands-on, after the distance (2021) is a site specific performance video installation at Omega Holistic, Little Malop St. Geelong. It comprises two video projections of a performance by artist and practicing physiotherapist Jessica Laraine Williams. The performance is constructed to appear as a disembodied massage treatment conducted remotely- an inherently absurd concept that dissects the notion of ‘hands-on’ practice in a socially-distanced world. Hands-on, after the distance, responds to the symbolic shifts in identity and practice that demarcate an extraordinary period of Australian pandemic time. A customised PPE visor and sterile blue are among the artist’s characteristic identifiers in her regular clinical work. They are enshrined through focal use of colour in the artworks.
Ocean Denial, (Defence Mechanisms)
Location: The vacant shop space beside Get Shorty Barber Shop
Artist: Laine Hogarty
In her project “ Defence mechanisms’, Laine explores our capacity to construct psychological defences, to protect our ego against unnamed fears and challenging complex emotional issues. In “Ocean Denial”, she reflects upon global warming and it’s impacts on our oceans, and also upon who governs those oceanic environments? The state of denial – is highlighted by an averted gaze.
In the digital animation, the seaweed fights back against the many threats. With the tables turned, and no way to deny the impacts, the possibility of extinction feels visceral. The work considers the denial of our dependence on ocean ecologies to sustain our existence.
Select images from the activation
Jessica Laraine Williams 