A new exhibition delving into the heart of Norlane will open at Platform Arts this weekend.
Led by artists Laura Alice and Yuhui Ng Rodriguez, A People’s Guide to (North) Geelong engaged eight young people from Indie School as honorary artists to interview Norlane residents and bring the stories of their neighbourhoods to life.
The results of the year-long project will be displayed for a week in an audiovisual installation, which opens at 5pm on Friday 20 February in the Platform Arts Performance Space.
The exhibition features a three-channel video projection, recorded audio, physical media and interactive digital components, resulting in an immersive experience conveying the stories of North Geelong.
Senior producer Penne Thornton said the project, part of Platform Arts’ What it Means to Remember season, was designed to impact both the audience and the young artists.
“We were all aware that the North gets quite a bad rap; there are extraordinary people doing extraordinary things in those neighbourhoods, and we wanted to give those stories a space to be shown,” she said.
“And we were interested in closing the gap between the older and younger generations and using this artwork as a way to do that. And the process is as important as what you end up with; the depth of the work is really in the process.”
Young honorary artist Rihann Mercieca said the project had brought her “a new understanding of the area and the culture around it”.
“I learnt some new skills…and it taught me a lot about the places, the beauty of the area and all the people there,” she said.
