Carly was part of a special collaboration between Test Sites and the 2017 Yirramboi First Nations Arts Festival to develop work for the public realm. This included mentoring and support for artists to develop new ideas for the public realm. Carly then went on to present her work at the Barring Yanabul event during Yirramboi.
Carly’s work predominantly explores the experience of being a part of the Indigenous diaspora of Australia; intersecting identities and the navigation of trans-generational inheritances, exploring the borders of ownership and autonomy, and the mapping of these shifting spaces and their interaction with changing social and cultural environments.
Crackers and Dip with Chase
I wanted to see how my character could create and hold a space that strangers would want to engage with. As a task, Chase was asking people to roll smokes with her as an offering to the angels.
The site I worked in was at the flag poles, near the corner of Bourke St Mall and Swanston St. I had planned to set up a table and some chairs, but unfortunately could not get them transported to the site smoothly, so instead I set up a long bit of butcher’s paper on the ground like a giant place mate and arranged food and things on there. Then I sat with my sign and invited passers by to sit with me.
At first it was difficult to get any interaction, but after a while people intermittently showed interest. I ended up sitting with a bout 4 different people, all at different times, and about 3 more people stopped by for about a minute to ask what was happening.
The thing that I found most interesting was how generous my unknowing audience was. They believed Chase completely. The ethics of that situation really spoke to me – I felt like I had betrayed them when, as they were leaving, they were asked to sign a media release. They had no idea they were in an experiment until then.