Suellen Symons

 Another Time This Place

Begun in an artist-in-residency at Tamworth TAFE where I stayed with another TAFE lecturer on her property with a blue heeler I loved and a couple of different families during the week, traversing weekly- it took 7 hours from Sydney to Tamworth by train- the whole of Sunday to travel, dream up ideas, read and meet people, would be actors in my drama. It was a time out space when I could visualise a series and put ideas into sketches in a Visual Arts Diary and begin to plan.

I would like to invite you to read the catalogue as I studied the history and culture of the early colonial settlers and the local Aboriginal history. I sought out people to learn about what happened in the area from and the historical society, the hospital staff, the gardeners and amateur historians and gradually gained permission to use historic sites.

My students’ daughters and an Aboriginal woman with violet eyes I met on the train became my actors and participated in the exploration of a narrative that involved intense emotion in the acting and revelations; these people were my collaborators.

Later the photo essay journeyed near Newcastle in Wangi Wangi with the beautiful lake and bush land providing a natural environment to work with. I had close friends nearby in Newcastle, others travelled up from Sydney with me.

I researched the early settlers’ heritage at both locations as well as the Aboriginal history and language and found a custodian of the local Tamworth Aboriginal language to incorporate in my poem which I hope pays homage to the land and the people in another time, this place.

I was able to exhibit the series in Tamworth Regional Gallery and Stills Gallery Paddington. I would like to exhibit the work also near Wangi Wangi at Lake Macquarie Gallery if this would be possible.

I would like to acknowledge the Awabakal, as the traditional Custodians of the land around Wangi Wangi, and the Kamilaroi people as the traditional custodians of the land around Tamworth and pay my respects to the Elders past and present.

Suellen Symons