Public Assembly

The contemporary glass box extension / meeting room to Northcote Town hall provided the perfect ‘eye’ to the Melbourne skyline. It is here that a projection for the annual ‘Northern Exposure’ Festival was installed – intending to create a discourse with the city and the civic precinct of Northcote. The projection reflected the city’s past and it’s potential future – in particular: the rectification of a fundamental infringement – Native Title via the layering of the ANTaR thumbprints gathered during the project install.

The installation also explored the parameters of an immersive experience for the viewer:

A sound piece was incorporated and contained within the projection room: recording the sounds of contemporary Melbourne with a vox populi of people’s ideas of how they would change Melbourne to make it their ideal city.

…and

The intent was also to have the Treaty Supporters Scroll in the projection room for viewers to participate by providing their thumbprint – their shadows casing onto the projected beyond, proving that one can effect change on the future plans of their city.

Six Hundred Thousand Acres has two interlocking conceptual frameworks:

THUMBPRINT

Recognition of Northcote as the site of the 1835 treaty signed by John Batman & the Wurundjeri Tribe – for 600,000 acres – marking the commencement of the ‘compromisation’ or infringement of indigenous land rights within the Victorian region. The project install during May | June was also aligned exactly with the same time frame it took John Batman to travel from Tasmania to signing the treaty – which occurred just one day before the Northern Exposure exhibition opening on June 8. The installation responded to these events by incorporating and promoting the ANTaR (Australians for Native Title and Reconciliation) Treaty Supporters Scroll – where non indigenous Australians could ’sign’ their support with their thumbprint. Within the projection, the thumbprints layer one on top of the other – creating a potential critical mass of change

BLUEPRINT

Even though Batman’s treaty was declared invalid, it was key in the establishment of Melbourne. As Batman states in his journal: “about six miles up, found a river of good water and very deep. This will be a place for a village” It was this ‘village’ that was to become Melbourne.

Two years later, Robert Hoddle was instructed by Governor Bourke to survey and layout the town. Northcote, due to it’s elevated aspect, became instrumental in the surveying of the city and the setting out of the North | South road (High Street). So, despite being located on the city fringe, Northcote was intrinsically tied to the future vision of Melbourne, as a place of dreaming the future city. The installation responds to this notion by layering historical maps of Melbourne from 1835 to present day – like ghostly blueprints.