Exhibits,

Carly Fischer Creating False Memories for a Place That Never Was

Opening: Wednesday 24 February, 6pm Dates: 24 February – 12 March 2016

‘Creating False Memories for a Place That Never Was’ is a sculptural and audio installation that reflects on the relationship between fact and fiction in ongoing, stereotypical representations of Australia. Referencing some of the strange souvenirs perpetuating such representations, the installation investigates how national and transnational, specific and generic narratives of place in Australia are often complexly intertwined. As a point of departure, the installation draws on a potentially fictional wooden mask found in a Melbourne souvenir shop and the ambiguous explanations about its origins. Tracing the path of these explanations, the installation uses the mask as a prop to investigate different possibilities of place, collecting stories and souvenirs along the way. Weaving interviews from artists, gallerists, museum staff, anthropologists and souvenir shop staff in various Australian locations in response to the mask, the installation’s audio soundscape reconstructs some of the conflicting narratives encountered. Reflecting these narratives back onto objects collected through the investigation, the installation presents sculptures that slip between found and fabricated cultural fragments. As an ambiguous answer to the story of the mask, the installation draws on some of the confusions surrounding Australian cultural representations.

Carly Fischer is a sculptural installation artist from Melbourne. She recently completed an MFA at Monash University, studying under Professor Callum Morton, having previously graduated with a BFA (Hons) from RMIT University in 2000. Since 2000, she has exhibited widely in Australia, Germany, Austria, Belgium, the Netherlands, the US, the UK and Japan, including at Craft Victoria, Helen Gory Galerie, Linden Centre for Contemporary Art, Gippsland Art Gallery, Australia, KWADRAT and REH Kunst, Germany and MU Artspace, the Netherlands. Fischer has also been the recipient of several grants and awards, recently including an Australia Council Grant and Australian Postgraduate Award for work in response to Australia.