Described as an ‘expanded neighbourhood of process-driven practice’, ‘It’s A New Day’ was an extensive project, made up of an exhibition at Artspace as well as a series of dynamic activities involving the surrounding community. The show was the outcome of a three month residency at Artspace by a collective of artists, including Josie Cavallaro and Anne Kay, Sarah Goffman, Lisa Kelly, ‘The Wild Boys’ (Trevor Fry, Richard Gurney, Tim Hilton), along with many collaborators.
All of these artists sought, in varying ways, to connect with the inhabitants of Woolloomooloo. As curator Sally Breen commented, ‘Woolloomooloo holds a diversity of often competing clusters of cultural, social and economic groups’. There are tourists, cashed-up socialites, homeless people, residents of welfare housing, school children and workers regularly frequenting the area. Four studios located within the Gunnery complex were opened up as spaces for artistic activity. Audiences were encouraged to engage with the artists during a series of workshops, symposia, meetings, artist talks, performances and open studios. The emphasis was on reaching out to groups who would not normally visit an art gallery.
Sarah Goffman’s And Now installation expanded outwards from the gallery space on the left-hand side into the foyer area. Rubbish collected from around the neighbourhood was meticulously arranged into myriad constellations. Whether lined up on trestle tables, stacked against the wall or shelved in an orderly manner, pieces of detritus formed beautiful patterns, following the artist’s idiosyncratic logic. As resident Japanese artist Nobuhiro Ishihara observed, Goffman’s practice is comparable to ikebana, the Japanese art of flower arranging, because it looks easy, but it is not. Goffman transformed pieces of junk into witty and thought-provoking formations, like the silver platter with