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OF THE PILBARA
ELISHA BUTTLER
CURATOR
FORM
Over the last two years, a project has surfaced which not only uses
creative means to tap into the finer grains of the Pilbara, but which seeks
to represent, and in some ways harmonise, the relationship between the
Pilbara’s mining, natural and social landscapes.
The Pilbara Project
is an initiative by Western Australian cultural
not-for-profit organisation, FORM, and is proudly supported by Principal
Partner BHP Billiton. It has been running since 2010, although its
roots were embedded much earlier when FORM established itself in
the Pilbara, first in Newman and later Port Hedland, where the body
now manages the Port Hedland Courthouse Gallery. With a base in the
Pilbara Port town (as well as Perth and Midland) FORM works with
Pilbara communities to deliver creative programs which seek to nurture
the skills of local artists to a truly professional standard, while helping
to shape a more cohesive cultural identity for the region as a whole.
The Pilbara Project
is like a long-term creative exploration of the
Pilbara. It has invited some of Australia’s finest creative minds to the
region, in the form of photographers, writers, curators and visual artists,
who have not only brought their own special artistry to the scene but
who have mentored and worked alongside many talented local creatives
during their journeys.
The first two outcomes of these journeys launched at the beginning
of 2011.
52 Weeks On
was the first
Pilbara Project
exhibition; a
photography exhibition which encompassed a film by WA filmmaker
Michael Fletcher and two distinct collections of photographs by Peter
Eastway, Christian Fletcher, Tony Hewitt and Les Walkling, shown at
FORM Gallery in Perth and the Port Hedland Courthouse Gallery.
The exhibition title borrows from the language of fly-in-fly-out
industries and refers to the total time the team spent on the ground
travelling through the Pilbara in preparation for the exhibition.
52 Weeks
On
was curated by William L. Fox, Director of Art and Environment at
the Nevada Museum of Art in the United States.
Also produced in 2011 was a limited edition hardback book,
The Pilbara Project: Field Notes and Photographs Collected over 2010
(available through FORM). Whereas the
52 Weeks On
exhibition had
a specific focus on capturing the inter-related natural and industrial
landscapes of the Pilbara, the book focuses on the people who have
lived, worked or travelled in the Pilbara. It is a collection of personal
stories, diary entries and anecdotes by a variety of people, woven among
a series of stunning photographs.
The book was produced with three limited edition covers,
including Tony Hewitt’s aerial shot of a sandy natural waterway
running along the Burrup Peninsula, on the Pilbara’s middle coast
(pictured top p.107)
. The photos selected for the book covers are
PETER EASTWAY, SALT TRAIN, PORT HEDLAND, 2010
How many ways are there to tell stories about a place, especially a place as
vast as the Pilbara? Perhaps there are as many ways as there are people,
for every landscape can hold a different story for each person, and every
experience is perceived through individual eyes. To tell us about one
initiative which portrays the unbound beauty and creative exploration of
this landscape is FORM Curator, Elisha Buttler.
The remotest parts of the world have long been a rich source of
inspiration for artists, writers and other creatively adventurous people.
The Pilbara region of Western Australia is no exception: its remote,
partially desert, partially tropical landscape has become ingrained
into Australia’s cultural psyche through the lifetime careers
of distinguished artists such as Fred Williams, writers such as
Sally Morgan and more recently through creative endeavours such as
Kriv Stenders’ film
Red Dog.
Yet despite these contributions, the Pilbara remains a mysterious
place to many. The Pilbara’s enigmatic aura is compounded by the area’s
ascension as a mining and resources power-region, which at times may
seem to be at odds with its more naturalist personality.
MINESITE 2011
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