These spatial conditions have been informed by the rise and fall of various empires, and patterns of migration that date back to the start of modern civilisation.
Lana draws connections between diverse time periods to uncover the roots behind contemporary design thinking. In doing so, she aims to narrate portions of history previously overlooked or ignored. The outcomes of this research are expressed through writing, spatial, event and sculpture design.
Lana recently gained her honours in Interior Design at RMIT, and currently works as a researcher for Broached Commissions. She has experience at organizations including MPavilion, HASSELL, Practise Studio Practise and RMIT in varied roles as a student designer, student teacher and researcher.
Public Action
In Australia, the planting of the British flag was one of the first actions taken to the mark this new territory and prefaced the colonial-settler tendency to interweave the Australian landscape with symbols of British hegemony during the 19th century. In Victoria, the belief that colonial power could tame ancient patterns of the environment was first displayed through the implementation of Hoddle’s Grid (1837).
A nuanced example of habits initiated by colonial-settlers can be found in the losses to Victoria’s native flora landscape, whose species diversity has been decimated by more than 95 per cent in recent centuries. Responding to this history, Public Action proposes the take-over of public airspace in Melbourne CBD (Hoddle’s Grid) with flags paying tribute to these lost flora species. More broadly, these flags intend to spark recognition that, whilst currently overridden, the conditions of Victoria’s geography are in fact the dominant powers of this region.
Public Action intends to interrogate the spatial hierarchies at play in Melbourne today. In doing so, this work aims to shift the conversation on the city’s design away from British moorings and encourage a harmonisation with attributes of the lands, forests and waterways. An acknowledgement of these forces should preface and be celebrated within the design schemes of all Australian public spaces.