Circular Economies Residency: Zali Morgan & Ilona McGuire in Carnamah #6

Aug 14

SPACED Circular Economies collaborating artists’ Ilona McGuire and Zali Morgan reflect on their Carnamah residency with North Midlands Project. Feeling the only way to escape their confusion about the place is to speak about their lack of resolution. Although they did not find the Truths they were looking for, they speak through their challenging, albeit common, experience in Carnamah via their artwork; which will be displayed at PICA in October 2026.

Every passing day seemed identical to the day before. Carnamah has become a disorienting figure throughout our many conversations as we try to make meaning of our experiences there. We share a strong yet unresolved response to Carnamah, feeling as though the only way to escape our confusion about this place is to speak about our lack of resolution. With every story told about this place, it felt as though a looming undercurrent of truth lay rumbling beneath the surface. Whether known or not, those who were once here and now remain in the dry and barren earth could tell us so much more.

So much forgotten, erased and in the shadows, we imagine only silhouettes of the past. Some names remembered, some faces recognised, and behind every door in every home is a piece of the puzzle. We are yet to hear the full story. Or maybe we never will. As time away from Carnamah unfolds and we sit in reflection, we have come to understand that the answers we were first searching for might not be for us to know or for us to explore through our work.

We are continuing to explore the idea of erasure and shadow. We are looking to make a suspended shelter/tent-like installation that combines cyanotypes made both in Carnamah and on Whadjuk Boodja. We invite the audience to immerse themselves in the work physically but also gain a glimpse into our truth as visitors in Carnamah. A soundscape will accompany the work, which will be responsive to our time spent on the residency. The soundscape contains voices, sounds and representations of the erased. The shelter will represent the barrier between us and the truth of Carnamah. It will be the holding of many stories, not singular. There cannot be a singular truth, and the shelter carries them all.

Images courtesy of the artists.

More about Zali and host community, North Midlands Project.

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Circular Economies is produced as a joint partnership by PICA - Perth Institute of Contemporary Arts and SPACED.