Tom Campbell with City of Vincent
Artist: Tom Campbell
Location: Leederville
Project Partner: City of Vincent
Work In Progress: Tom will explore gesture and tension across various forms of practice (street dance, poetry) and research an embodied vocabulary of tension through engagement with other street dancers and artists. He will be researching how this vocabulary can be understood, documented and learned, and look to develop a set of materials that might enable interested parties to creatively unpick tensions in their own lives. Tom is interested in the tensions that exist between things that are uncertain or might not yet exist, and the action of inviting yourself or someone else to believe that a different future may be possible.
About the artist:
Tom Campbell is a poet and multidisciplinary artist based in Boorloo/Perth, Australia. Kadazan on his mother’s side and Scottish on his father’s, his work explores muscle memories across histories, with a particular interest in the ways language, knowledge and culture are transferred across time and space. He is interested in time and language as malleable materials, open to endless stretching, compressing, embedding and reconfiguration. These processes are evident across histories of sampling (textiles/new media), and in the ways stories are held and transferred (in the body/in written language). His work often seeks to collapse time and distance in ways that are unexpected or generative.
Since 2021, Tom has been training in w_acking, an expressive street dance style that traces its lineage to Black and Latinx underground gay clubs in LA. Since 2022, Tom has been working with artists Zora Pang and Jessica Tanto on how to disagree (working title), a collaborative research project.
About the project parter:
What sets the City of Vincent apart is its rich, layered history, grounded in a place that always was and always will be Whadjuk Noongar Boodja. This inner-city area has been shaped by generations of people from around the world helping create the vibrant and welcoming community seen today.
Vincent is widely recognised for its dynamic arts and culture scene, from local artists, galleries, street and public art, to live music venues, creative laneways and events. The area is home to beloved creative hubs such as The Rosemount Hotel, Luna Cinema, RTRFM and the Pickle District.
Vincent’s dedication to the arts is also reflected in its Mural Co-Funding Program, which provides local artists with the platform and support to showcase their work in public spaces. Together, these elements help shape a distinctive, energetic place where creativity is visible, accessible and celebrated every day.
the cut is also you, Tom Campbell, 2025, machine and hand embroidery on cotton. Image by 5 foot photography.