"The quiet conversation emerges in the spaces between images - where form becomes formless and invites us into a deeper way of seeing."​

 

Origins of an Enquiry​

 

Changing Spaces expanded my ongoing investigation into perception, embodiment and the relationship between image and experience. Presented as part of the Geelong After Dark public art program in 2015, the installation occupied multiple spaces throughout Etch Gallery, inviting audiences into a sequence of encounters that explored observation, participation and the shifting boundaries between viewer and viewed.

​

Comprising three interconnected works—Objectify, Take a Piece of Me and Moths Dissolving—the installation examined ways images shape our understanding of identity, particularly in relation to the representation of the female body within contemporary visual culture. While each work operated independently, together they created a progression through different modes of looking, moving from public observation to personal participation and ultimately to contemplative immersion.

​

Visitors first encountered Objectify, a large-scale video projection visible from the street. Positioned outside the gallery, viewers became both observers and the observed, peering upward through illuminated windows, where silhouettes of gallery visitors moved above. The work disrupted conventional relationships between public and private space, creating an awareness of how acts of looking influence our experience of self and others.

​

At the top of the stairway, visitors encountered Take a Piece of Me, a large-format photograph quietly hung upside down to subtly abstract its form, prompting viewers to pause and be present with the image. This is. accompanied by multiple small reproductions of the same work on a small table beneath it. The audience is again invited to take a copy of the print free of charge. Through this simple gesture, the work extended beyond representation into physical interaction. The act of taking the image became part of the artwork itself, transforming viewers into participants within a process of fragmentation, circulation and consumption. The female form moved beyond photographic subject matter and became a distributed object, raising questions about agency, desire and the commodification of the body.

​

The final work, Moths Dissolving, occupied a private viewing space within the gallery. Constructed from more than 250 individual photographs stitched together to create subtle movement, the projection transformed photography into a temporal and immersive experience. Here, the body gradually shifted between visibility and abstraction, dissolving and reforming through layered transitions. The work invited sustained viewing and encouraged audiences to engage with the spaces between images, where form became formless, and perception became the subject of the work.

​

Viewed together, the installation marked an important development within my practice. While earlier works explored the relationship between consciousness and lived experience, Changing Spaces extended this enquiry into the politics of representation, the instability of the photographic image and how audiences participate in the construction of meaning. Across projection, photography and installation, the work examined how images are experienced, consumed and embodied, inviting viewers to reflect not only on what they see, but on how they see.

Looking back, Changing Spaces represents a significant step in the evolution of my ongoing investigation into transformation, perception and the spaces that exist between image, body and experience—questions that continue to inform my practice today.