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Long Gallery, Salamanca Arts Centre, Hobart, Tasmania for the 7 Warehouses exhibition.

Curated by Rebecca Greenwood

 

Timber, fibreglass, paint, screenprinted wallpaper, framed antique print

Screenprinting: Ken Ford

Construction and framing: Gerard Willems

Inhabitation 2002

This work was made to celebrate the 25th anniversary of Salamanca Art Centre and the history of the warehouse buildings at Salamanca Place, Hobart. It focused on the links between the warehouses and Hobart's early whaling industry - in the 1830s and 40s, Hobart Town was one of the most significant whaling centres in the world. 

 

The work featured a 2.8 metre high replica of the pectoral fin of a humpback whale. Coated in a white surface that evokes soap or fat, it was positioned in front of a wall covered in off–white wallpaper that had been screenprinted with white text listing details of 1830s and 40s whaling boats, the crew and their catch. A digital replica of a 19th century print showing people submerging their bodies into the body of a dead whale as a cure for arthritis was hung on the wall.

Details
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