Justin Avery and Courtney Pedersen
There has been much discussion lately about the nature and future direction of public art in this country. Whether influenced by the new funding emphasis on audience development or by artists seeking cultural destinations beyond the privileged gallery domain, art is becoming more and more a part of our experience of urban spaces.
However, despite the energy and enthusiasm with which art is furnishing the malls, parks and arcades of Australian cities, more often than not the 'public' credentials of these works lie more in their spatial location than their social one––obstinate architectural accessories which do little to engage the imagination or conscience of the passer-by. And with our urban social spaces so threatened by commercial interests is it essential that we not only engage with what 'public' might actually mean to us, but demand that art provide a stimulus and framework for the conversation.
It is in such a climate that Justin Avery and Courtney Pedersen's outdoor installation Body Memory Field is so refreshing. Taking place over three days in Captain Burke Park on the river beneath Brisbane's grand modernist icon the Story Bridge, the work comprised a geometrical arrangement of sixteen bodies––stained, wax-coated sheet 'shells'––each describing the undulations of a dormant figure beneath. As appealing and disturbing as any Kiki Smith sculpture, during the day the bodies made an eerie juxtaposition with the frolickings of picnickers, while at nightfall they each glowed with an internal light source, hovering in the darkness like some kind of strange ceremonial beacon.
This sense of ritual, suggesting paranormal conspiracy models or neo-pagan rites, was reinforced by the recent massacres in East Timor, inspiring many viewers to won der whether the work was