Art installations have popped up at unusual sites all over Kyneton this week.
It’s all part of the inaugural Kyneton Contemporary Art Triennial, which was launched last Friday and continues until Sunday.
KCAT2018 is a celebration of contemporary art and an exploration of the energies that resonate in place and community.
Artists have engaged with the Kyneton community to develop meaningful creative outcomes and several artists have undertaken artist residencies.
Georgie Mattingley has been artist-in-residence at BUPA Aged Care researching personal histories of some of the town’s oldest residents and drawing out stories of their time working in post-war industries in Kyneton; many no longer in operation.
The artist prepared a series of photographs that she then hand painted with Bupa residents.
During KCAT2018 these have been enlarged and installed across Kyneton celebrating the working life of residents and the lost industries of the town.
Among those the artist met and formed connections with were former employees of the old Ajax foundry where some of her artwork is currently displayed.
She soon came to admire these people’s commitment and satisfaction with their life in work.
“The fact that they would get a job when they were 12 or 13 and they would stay their whole life in that one job, and it would be a monotonous job,” she told the Express.
“A lot of them said they would stand in one point in the factory and work for eight hours a day, for 30 years of their life. And that’s their life and they were so committed to it and satisfied with it. I really admire that.
“I feel like I’m from this generation of technology, we want things fast, we want a dynamic career, we want to change career every two years, and I really enjoyed just connecting with people from another generation – not many years actually separate us but culturally we’re worlds apart.”
Local cellist, composer and performance maker Zoë Barry has worked with Georgie to produce a soundscape to accompany the images at the foundry.
Artworks by 10 featured artists will be on display until next Sunday. For program details and tickets visit: kynetoncontemporary.com
