Bridget Nicholson

This project started in 2009 through my involvement with a group of artists concerned about the proposal to dam the Williams River in the Hunter Valley NSW.  Numerous dairies were part of the proposed inundation; watching the cows traipse in for milking, and the tracks and marks they left, made me think about our connection as humans to the world in which we we live. At the time I was living in Dungog, in regional NSW, and traveling through regional areas regularly. Every new town seemed to have its own issue:  'Stop the Dam'; 'No More gas'; 'Save our Rivers'; save our souls.

The aim of this project is to allow a space for the emotional. Environmental issues are debated in terms of economics and science. The emotional, cultural and spiritual importance of the land/human relationship is not heard; not given value or a space. My time in the Hunter highlighted growing divisions in society as people became judged as pro or anti the environment, dependent on their job. This project debunks these judgments. The project is an an intimate one. To date an extremely diverse range of people have participated and shared their feelings, hopes and fears about the land/human relationship.

I am a conceptual installation artist. Trained in architecture, I have worked in urban design and am particularly interested in interpretations of landscape. My art practice is based on an understanding of humans as part of a whole, the individual within the collective. I am interested in materials, textures and meanings, the layering of perceptions and interpretations bound up in the material itself and developed through people and cultural histories. The process relies heavily on interaction with people. The body is used to generate the form which not only allows me the time to care for someone else, but means that the resultant object holds something of that person.

Participants to date have been from the Hunter region, Alice Springs, Tennant Creek, South Gippsland and the ACT. I am returning to Central Australia in July with a desire to travel to more outlying communities culminating in an exhibition of the Northern Territory part of the collection at Araluen Arts Centre. These feet will then join the others in Gunnedah, NSW for an exhibition in September. I hope to also visit the Coorong in SA and Tasmania, these places are chosen as their histories are tied to the relationship between people and natural resources. The aim is to present the collection, with accompanying audio, in Canberra to provoke reflection on the human dynamic and its evolving relationship with the natural world.

The funds I am seeking are to help with travel, transportation of the shoes, and firing costs. So far I have been self funding, and I have received assistance from Keanes Ceramics to help with the clay costs. The nature of the project requires travel by car in particular as the places where this contest is happening and many are regional and remote. The escalating fuel prices are making this difficult. I am also hoping that people will see this as a means of their being part of the project, if not through their feet by enabling the inclusion of people in remote and isolated areas. I am keen not to seek Government funding as I would prefer the project to demonstrate the power of the collective.