Collaboration despite the tyranny of distance

ABSTRACT

In his influential book, historian Geoffrey Blainey coined the term The Tyranny of Distance (1982) as a descriptor that continues to influence the psyche. For the first time in 2019, the three leading performing arts schools in Australia approached the design for the student exhibition at the Prague Quadrennial (PQ) as a collaborative project. The theme of isolation and its influence on current Australian politics shaped not only the conception and development, but also the curation and realisation of the exhibition. The student exhibition presented the opportunity to explore the creation of a site-specific installation but required the navigation of distance in conception and realisation as installation of the various elements could only occur once on site in Prague. Distance also needed to be negotiated between cohorts, timelines and requirements of the different institutions. The tyranny of delayed international shipping was overcome, as with all other obstacles, by the application of a distinctly Australian sense of humour in the formation of a temporary installation – ShippingWrecked – to hold our place until the full exhibition arrived. PQ presents the opportunity to overcome our physical isolation but also test the benefits that isolation extends to our artistic practice.

Acknowledgements

Jo Briscoe attended PQ19 supported by a Victorian College of the Arts Foundation Engagement Grant from the Faculty of Fine Arts and Music, University of Melbourne.

VCA students attended courtesy of an Endeavour Leadership Grant from the Australian government and Global Atelier grant funding from the Faculty of Fine Arts and Music, University of Melbourne.

The curatorial team for the project were Leaf Watson, Fleur Kingsland and Megan Parker from WAAPA, and Stephen Curtis and Jeremy Allen from NIDA.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author.

Notes on contributor

Jo Briscoe APDG is Lecturer in Production Design at the Victorian College of the Arts and coordinates the Master of Production Design for Screen and Master of Design for Performance. Her professional practice includes design for both stage and screen. She holds a Master of Fine Arts (Theatre Arts) from Pennsylvania State University and is an accredited member of the Australian Production Design Guild (APDG).

Notes

1 For examples, see https://www.mca.com.au/artists-works/artists/fiona-hall/ and http://leunig.com.au/.

2 The full text of the Australian national anthem is available at https://www.pmc.gov.au/sites/default/files/files/pmc/Honours/anthem_words.pdf.

3 The Australian sense of humour and its contribution to the national identity is examined by historians including Richard White (1981) and Melissa Bellanta (2012).