A short video made in collaboration with a handful of Timorese artists, lead by the brilliant Etson Caminha. The idea was to film a handful of artists across different mediums responding to the theme of national identity to coincide with the national day of celebration. But there was also an element of protest to the concept, with local artists unhappy about the amount of resources being invested in the celebration of the first Portuguese landing in Timor, a date which saw the start of a long line of colonialism in this tiny nation.
East Timor has been a place of immense creative inspiration over the years, starting during my first trip with the Oaktree Foundation in 2010. I've worked on a variety of creative development projects with Dili's free art school Arte Moris, using small grants to facilitate exchanges and workshops between Dili and Melbourne. The project has introduced me to some unforgettable characters, and will likely be a part of my life for many decades to come with many new projects currently in the pipeline.
In August 2014, the Animatism project lead us into an involvement with East Timor's first ever public art festival named Arte Publiku. The festival was a combination of music, art, dance, performance and all things creative, encouraging nation building and creative exchange through a week of workshops and performance opportunities. I was lucky enough to hold a camera to the event, and collaborated on two projection pieces for the festival.
Midway through 2014, the Animatism project received funding to bring out three of East Timorese's finest artists to make a mural and projection installation for the Gertrude Projection festival. Tony, Alfe and Etson are all renowned painters in East Timor, although projected art installations are yet to appear back home. So to capitalise on their artistic skills we set up a studio at the Fitzroy community art centre and had them freely pain the reverse of the glass. The project won the 2014 Walker Abercrombie Judge's Award.