Creative Occupation
SHIPRITE, PERFORMANCE
8 March, 11am
Lorne groyne, meet at Cypress avenue entrance
Creative Occupation (active since 2018) is a collective of artists based in Wadawurrung Country / Geelong area, and their growing practice is closely linked with coastal and (under)water locations in Port Phillip Bay and wider region. The group includes Marita Batna, Jessica Laraine Williams, Ingrid Petterson, and Michael Morgan, in consultation with conservation scientist Dr Matthew L Berg. They practice across mediums, making installations, sculpture, performances, film, activations, and intersecting them.
Creative Occupation presents ephemeral performance rites in specific places, drawing from maritime themes and environmental investigations. Inverting the notion of dredging being a gesture of human extraction, removal and wreckage, Shiprite transforms the Lorne foreshore site with a one-off performance rite of renewal and accumulation. An assemblage of sculptural objects rests on a recycled sailcloth, and the performance centres on a walk pulling these items along the sand towards the Lorne groyne for temporary display.
This project was made possible by the Australian Government Regional Arts Fund, which supports the arts in regional and remote Australia, and Regional Arts Victoria. It is assisted by Geelong Arts Centre's Creative Engine.
Image: Creative Occupation collective, left to right: Jessica Laraine Williams, Ingrid Petterson, Michael Morgan, Marita Batna, Mathew L Berg (behind the scenes). Courtesy the artists.
