Contemporary territory 2001
In a break with tradition, Daena Murray, curator of the biennial Contemporary Territory exhibitions, has eschewed the usual survey show for a more in depth exploration of the work of two artists. This bold move has resulted in one of the most interesting and satisfying Contemporary Territory's since they began in 1994. Both Kim Mahood and Bronwyn Wright have engaged in sustained investigations and complex interactions with particular landscape sites in the Territory over many years. The work of these two artists is part of a long tradition of engagement with particular environments outside the gallery where the artwork usually results in some form of documentation. For this exhibition the curator commissioned digital video documentation of these engagements which became the centerpiece of the exhibition. Both artists have been involved in unique and at times eccentric projects and whilst the almost cinematically constructed documentations were very different in approach, they both displayed an intimate and loving relationship with the respective sites of obsession. Bronwyn Wright's long-term obsession is an area she calls 'the swamp' on the outskirts of Darwin. it is a tidal mudflat dominated by claypans, ridges and mangroves that the artist has visited almost daily over the last eleven years. During the first seven years she photographed the birds, plants and patterns in the rocks. Then she became drawn to the abandoned cars and tyres that littered the site, which is also regularly visited by young men and car hoons who spin out in old cars, stolen cars, 4WDs and motorbikes. Over time this aspect of the site, its energy and dynamism, became the defining focus for the artist as she became an active participant, engaging in anonymous