Grape?

Proposal for Wangaratta Whitfield Public Art, 2022 by EXCX in collaboration with Monash Art Projects.

The proposal is a mysterious mound on the outskirts of Whitfield that appears to be hiding something. Is it a large glera grape, ready to be unveiled as a new piece of public art celebrating King Valley’s Prosecco? Maybe the mystery is juicier than the knowing.

Tourists appreciate the scenography and products of beautiful wine regions like the King Valley but generally speed through in a few days, limiting their understanding of place and country which, as King Valley locals can surely attest, takes time. We asked ourselves how these somewhat opposing viewpoints in rural areas (visitor and local, fast and slow, from afar and on the ground) are brought together through a piece of public art.

This question took us through the history of aerial surveying and satellite imaging for extractive industries including agriculture, mining and defence. These relatively recent practices have left many amazing landmarks on the surface of the earth, though how they appear and linger on the ground has an extended impact on the ground to locals who live among them. We were also drawn to contemporary digital domains, like pixelated camouflage patterns that hide secret and sensitive locations around the world on google maps, creating an intriguing paradox: by trying to hide, they draw attention to their importance. It is this attitude which drives our concept: drawing attention to the Whitfield and the King Valley by appearing to be (badly) hiding something highly valuable in plain sight.

The proposal’s surface is a camouflage pattern that samples the colours of the surrounding landscape, so that in its attempt to fit in it creates a strange palette of the valley stretching beyond in both directions. It becomes an impressionistic device through which to understand the colours and textures of the King Valley’s landscape, at the resolution of an outsider’s perspective.