Bronwyn Wright
"Over the last sixteen years, with my dogs I have visited a wasteland on the edge of Darwin’s northern suburbs known locally as The Swamp. The Nickelodeon Series is a set of digital photographic prints that is the result of an ongoing site-specific exploration and response to this specific, contemporary, cultural landscape. My work in The Swamp has links to the stealth associated with graffiti artists and the flamboyant play of the theatre. It is based on intimacy with the site, daily visits, observation of seasonal variations and an anonymous interaction or dialogue with a youth sub-culture. The Swamp is a shared space. Nothing is owned. Change is a major characteristic in my work. Car bodies break down and rust in The Swamp as our own bodies tire and retire. I document and record everything I do using digital cameras and video, but the artwork itself evolves with time. In the exhibition Vanitas in May 2004 at the Charles Darwin University Gallery, not only are the rusted cars weathering in the Swamp but the images are also breaking down. In 2003 Bronwyn won first prize in the ENERGEX Arbour Contemporary Art Prize with a large photo depicting Family. She won $20,000 which she used to pay off credit card debts incurred by her photography habit and her passion for image making"
(Bronwyn Wright 2007)
