Australian artist to live ‘underneath the bitumen’ for three days
Mike Parr
Hobart, June 1, 2018
For 72 hours, he’ll survive inside the 1.7m x 2.2m space with a folding chair, waste buckets, some water and a sketchpad and pencils, but there will be no food, and there will be no contact.
Leigh Carmichael on the artist statement:
‘It acknowledges two deeply linked events in Tasmania’s history. The eventual transportation of 75,000 British and Irish convicts in the first half of the 19th century, and the subsequent, nearly total destruction of Tasmania’s Aboriginal population.
To my knowledge, it will be Tasmania’s first monument referencing both the Black War and The Convict System, because the abysmal treatment of the indigenous people and the extreme violence of the punishment meted out to the convicts are two sides of the same coin.
It is a story that is not well known, but is ever-present, just beneath the surface of our contemporary culture. The fact that Mike Parr’s work will happen underground, just out of sight, as everyday life continues above it, is clearly no coincidence.’ News .com
Mike Parr
Hobart, June 1, 2018
 |
| Mike Parr, Performance, Hobart |
For 72 hours, he’ll survive inside the 1.7m x 2.2m space with a folding chair, waste buckets, some water and a sketchpad and pencils, but there will be no food, and there will be no contact.
 |
| Mike Parr, Performance, Hobart |
Leigh Carmichael on the artist statement:
‘It acknowledges two deeply linked events in Tasmania’s history. The eventual transportation of 75,000 British and Irish convicts in the first half of the 19th century, and the subsequent, nearly total destruction of Tasmania’s Aboriginal population.
To my knowledge, it will be Tasmania’s first monument referencing both the Black War and The Convict System, because the abysmal treatment of the indigenous people and the extreme violence of the punishment meted out to the convicts are two sides of the same coin.
It is a story that is not well known, but is ever-present, just beneath the surface of our contemporary culture. The fact that Mike Parr’s work will happen underground, just out of sight, as everyday life continues above it, is clearly no coincidence.’ News .com