Have you ever wondered how others see your hood? Or how others see you? For Express Collective, it’s been an obsession of late – particularly relating to young people.
Basing themselves at the Noarlunga Centre Interchange, artists Josie Were and Meg Wilson proceeded to ask passers-by one simple question: "what three beautiful moments have you seen here?" The outcome is 'Radio Station': an audio work to be heard, via silent disco headsets, throughout the station.
By Express Collective, as part of ExpressWay Arts (an initiative of Carclew), 'Radio Station' will be led by artists Josie Were and Meg Wilson, Sound Designer Sascha Budimski and Creative Producer, Alysha Herrmann. There will also be a beauty parlour, where audiences can listen to young people's observations of beauty, and a ‘Love Song Dedications’ – with dedications to people in or parts of the station.“It's been really interesting”, says Josie, “because on the one hand many young people say straight away ‘nothing beautiful happens here’, but many really do see wonderful things and have great stories to share.”
For Creative Producer Alysha Herrmann, the station itself held much possibility, as did the plight of finding ways to subvert perceptions of naughty or disengaged youth, while working closely with the young people who live there. Using a gold slasher curtain, a red carpet, a red tailed coat and various other fantastical elements, the site – often considered dingy, dirty or unloved – became reinvented. “I think the visual aesthetic in this space creates the frame that invites people in,” says Alysha. “It's that invitation to go 'what the fuck is this?' And then to find an answer by interacting with the artists.”
Josie agrees. “We wanted to do a very visual and transformative work that would pull against the natural tide of the station, changing it from a place you would want to depart from quickly, to a place that you’d want to stay in, and celebrate.”
Ultimately 'Radio Station' will be a conversation – with both the space “and the young people,” says Josie, “who spend hours of their day there watching, listening, hanging out. Our focus is as much on the outcome, as it is on the process. A dialogue, an open creative process and a practical inquiry into where and how we make art for and with young people.”
'Radio Station' can be heard at Noarlunga Centre Interchange, 12 & 20 June.
