Artist Reflection —
With Grasslands, my interest was sparked by a local concern. I was curious to explore what the State Library of Victoria replaced in its founding. What other life forms had occupied the grounds of that building? Working and thinking with grasslands led me to consider how humanity approaches the world-for-itself, or for us; the impulses, instruments, and frameworks of colonization are at play everywhere. The camera is certainly in line with that same mentality of control and I constantly wrestle with that awareness in my work. Working with grassland plants prompted me to shift my focus to the background. From its inception, Infield was conceptualized with a particular role for performative caretakers who would act as the human component of the work. Making care visible and public was a key aspect of the work, situating human communication from a particular perspective of embodied care—rather than an educational or institutional. This is reflected in the choice of plant community—the infield’s biodiversity is a product of centuries of human care. The performative aspect of this work is informed by my own experiences caring for living artworks.
The fact that these artworks are made at all is testament to the plant’s right to be there. The making of this work expanded my understanding of who might form a public, and who has the right to be where. Looking back at this work and forward to my current practice, I’m imagining multispecies publics—places where multiple lifeforms can gather, be together, and touch each other.
About Linda Tegg
Linda Tegg is an Australian artist who makes work out of inhabiting and reconfiguring the conditions of spectatorship. Within her immersive installations, plants, animals, images, and the built environment are brought into unlikely proximities to generate new points of orientation and relation. This speculative work questions the impulses and methods used to frame the world as resource and seeks new forms of coexistence. Tegg’s artwork engages with cultural institutions as well as public space and has been widely exhibited in Australia, the United States, and Europe. In 2018, Tegg was the Co-Creative Director, with Baracco+Wright Architects, of “Repair,” the Australian Pavilion at the Venice Architecture Biennale.
