Circular Economies Residency: Ilona McGuire in Carnamah #2

Jun 4

Ilona McGuire is currently working with the community of Carnamah (Amangu and Badymia land), hosted by North Midlands Project. This residency is part of SPACED’s current regional residency program, SPACED 5: Circular Economies.

Ilona shares her experiences of the area during her residency via the following reflection.

At week 3 of my residency here, I get a sense there are countless untold stories that bubble under the surface of an otherwise happy town. I've had so many lovely interactions with the community members around North Midlands Project, the shire, the post office, the café and the local grocers; yet I find myself being reclusive and wanting to hide in the shadows a bit more than I usually would if I was in Perth.

Whilst I had originally planned to dive deeper into the story of the Maroon bush and its healing properties, I couldn't help but turn my attention to the shadowy foundation of Carnamah. It was increasingly obvious that the story of the people before the pastoralist colony has been buried deep below the pride of the towns foundation. Like the Carnamah water spring, somewhere near the MacPherson farm, hiding in a thirsty field. Tymia and I had some yarns about it all, she suggested that I may have to visit a neighbouring town to get more of a cultural perspective for this place.

With all this in mind, I wanted to reflect my pondering, longing and wonder through a medium that can capture glimpses, impressions and shadows like a distant memory that fades and transforms over time. With so much natural sun light, surely there was a way I could harness it to expose the shadows of a forgotten world. I recall waking up in the silent dead of night in my first week and heard a woman's soft voice close by my window, "hey", she said. Slightly spooked, slightly curious and wondering if I imagined it, l went straight back to bed.

I’ve been using sun exposure at midday when the sun is right over head. l've begun testing cyanotype printing to capture my own body and other objects I found around town including water and local native tree leaves. Testing these materials has been an exciting and satisfying process. I’ll continue some deeper content research in my last week here and produce something that speaks to my Carnamah experience.

Photos courtesy of the artist: Experimentations with cyanotypes.

More information about the Circular Economies artists, host communities and projects as they unfold can be found by subscribing to SPACED’s monthly email newsletter, and following SPACED on Facebook and Instagram.

Learn more about Ilona McGuire.

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