Since completing a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Photo-media from Monash University in 2010, Autumn has exhibited extensively across Melbourne in numerous exhibitions and events. Highlights include the National Gallery of Victoria’s project space - NGV Studio, 45 Downstairs, Kings ARI, Gertrude St Projection Festival, Yarra Sculpture Gallery, Obscura Gallery, Alliance Française Gallery, Trocadero Art Spaces, Monash Faculty Gallery, and Without Pier Gallery.
Autumn has also been the recipient of various awards, residencies and programs including a residency in Prato – Italy, participation in the Rudder Mentor Program with mentor Yandell Walton, receiving the Kayell Australia Excellence in Photo-Media Award, receiving the 2010 Alliance Française Prize for Monash University Graduates, being a finalist in Uncover at Perth Centre for Photography, and a nomination for Hatched 2011 at PICA. Recent public art projects have been supported by the Centre for Projection Art Digital Residency, and Test Sites Online public art program with Testing Grounds.
Bird on the Wire
When the harsh lockdowns of COVID-19 began, a hush swept through Melbourne CBD and a kookaburra was heard from within its walls. Not long after, there were also unusual sightings of Glossy Black Cockatoos in the greater metro area in search of food after the devastating bushfires of 2019-2020.
Bird on the Wire has formed as a direct response to these events and environmental changes. By infiltrating the city with birdsong, the aim of this project is to connect the plight of our environment and its creatures alongside our own experiences of home, safety and connection.
The soundscape will be naturalised, becoming a backdrop to the humdrum of the city. When the composition ends, the silence is a stark contrast to the joyful symphony that had filled our ears and hearts just moments before. It is here that the romanticised idea of the birdsong falls away, and we are left with the echoes of birds that were competing for survival and a glimpse into a future where we hold onto a recording of their voices.
Bird on the Wire will be presented in two formats; a physical presentation that is location specific, and through a digital web-based platform.
Evoking a mixture of warning and hope, nostalgia and longing, presence and absence, Bird on the Wire presents an opportunity for listeners to find value and empathy in their surroundings.