S.I.T.E. Richmond (Something in the Exchange)

Curated by Jade Irvine in collaboration with Clarence City Council

Various Locations, Richmond

7 September - 6 October 2024

S.I.T.E: Richmond (Something in the Exchange)

Artists: Selena de Carvalho, Eloise Daintree, George Kennedy, Amber Koroluk-Stephenson, Brigita Ozolins, Mary Scott, Nunami Sculthorpe-Green, Angus Thornett

SITE: Richmond is an exhibition of new work by eight Tasmanian artists presented across multiple locations in Richmond. At the time of Richmond’s bicentenary, the exhibition re-examines perceptions of the town – its past, its present, and its future. Through a layering of diverse perspectives, concerns and sensibilities, SITE, or Something In The Exchange, offers an opportunity to engage with the multifaceted histories and legacies present in this iconic Tasmanian town.

“Something In The Exchange was prompted by the hope of a shift. That we will take time to respond to and reconsider this beautiful, complex, confusing, confronting place over the past 200 years and millennia beyond. The power of art is in making our unseen or ignored connections more visible.”

Jade Irvine, Curator of SITE: Richmond.

Convergence

In tourism ventures, the production of maps, brochures, apps, tours, and events are important placemaking tools. Within the walls of The Richmond Gaol, Amber Koroluk-Stephenson’s newly formed fragments, riff on darker undercurrents of harsh penal punishment and mistreatment at this site, but also the nostalgic facade of the present. Contrasting layers of Richmond’s story are expressed through disused road signs, and a colour scheme extracted from snippets of gaol wallpaper. Further hinting at the potential for multiple readings of a place, in Convergence, Koroluk-Stephenson references the famous lolly shop, while alluding to prison bars and colourful uniforms worn by the convicts who build much of the township.

Excerpt from Jade Irvine’s catalog essay

This project is assisted through Arts Tasmania.