projects
about
cv

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contemporary visual artist

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practicing on Nyoongar Country in Walyalup / Fremantle, Western Australia

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Shadows on the hill



Shadows on the hill is a fully functional, artist designed collapsable camping shelter that camouflages itself as a late 80s station wagon. At this campsite for conversation, passersby are invited to drop in for a cuppa and a chat about housing affordability, sustainable architecture and our relationship with land ownership in Australia.

As housing prices in our major cities continue to climb, the Australia dream of owning a suburban home becomes an even bigger mountain to conquer. But is it worth the hike? Over recent decades housing accessibility and stability has become increasingly precarious, especially for younger generations who are often priced out of major cities. The way we build our cities, the importance of sustainability, the challenges of climate change, our complex relationship with Australia’s First Nations people and the very idea of “ownership” have also come into focus in public debate.

Over its many iterations around Australia, occupying various public and private sites, Shadows on the hill has acted as a place for localised conversations about what housing means to us as a community. Different experiences are exchanged, concerns raised and ideas shared, all with the intention of working out what we want our society to look like in the 21st Century.

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Shadows on the hill was originally presented at the 2016 Next Wave Festival and developed through their Kick Start Program. This project has been supported by International Art Space and the Western Australian Government through the Department of Culture and the Arts.

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Exhibition History


2016, Next Wave Festival, Testing Grounds, ACCA, Footscray Community Arts Centre, Northcote Town Hall, and two residential sites, Melbourne
2016, Disrupted: Festival of Ideas, State Library of Western Australia, Perth
2016, Camp Doogs, Harvey
2017, Know Thy Neighbour, Perth City Farm, Perth
2017, Sculpture by the Sea, Cottesloe Beach, Perth
2018, The Obscure Camera, Adelaide Central Gallery, Adelaide
2019, Shadows on the hill, Constance ARI, Hobart

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Podcast


Culturally Perculiar is a podcast developed with Barking Wolf, exploring suburban aspirations in modern Australia.





Shadows on the hill (Next Wave Festival), 2016, Installed at Testing Grounds












© Dan McCabe, 2024