When I first came to Campbelltown in 2011, I had a weird sensation. When I entered the local Tourist information, I felt like I was in another place. Another place that I knew in Europe – Campbeltown, Scotland.
Everything in this Tourist information – the postcards, the history books, the crafts and the heritage walk brochures – looked identically as it looked in the same place on the other side of the globe. And yet, people on Queen Street didn’t look like Scotish fishermen…
Being confused about why things would look the same but not people, I started to make an archive of items with – what I thought had – identical looks. I then took this archive back to Campbeltown, Scotland to find the missing pair to complete it.
After a year, I came back to Campbelltown again, this time invited as an artist-in-residence. Being asked to artistically engage with the local community, I felt the need for making some decent souvenirs for this place that didn’t look like they were made in Scotland.
For „Oh! I wanna dance with somebody!“, I will present a collection-in-progress of souvenirs, created through the lense of a Dance Tourist in Western Sydney, with various artistic collaborators. On display will be bags, postcards, keyrings and – of course – dances.
Campbelltown Art Centre 19th – 21st October 2012
