Faces of the Hastings
Supported by: Port Macquarie Hastings Council
Location: Food for Less building, Port Macquarie
as the introductionary event for ArtWalk
Date: March 2018
My aim was to prompt people to stop and reflect, to look beyond the facade. Who’s is this person? What’s his/her story? Who are we as a community? Who are we collectively?
These images are a selection from Faces of the Hastings. This was the first public art exhibition I did in Australia. Installed on 28 February 2018.The project included a series of large black and white posters that launched the Bicentenary 2018-2021 event in Port Macquarie.
In the following three years, large poster-sized black and white portrait photographs were displayed in a number of visible public spaces as a creative way to reflect on the history, and local stories of people from across the Hastings region.
The installation forms part of the public spaces component of ArtWalk 2018 which followed this project in April 2018. ArtWalk is a cultural arts event with exhibitions, live performances, artists markets, workshops and installations.
My aim with this temporary public art installation was to prompt passers by to stop and reflect, to look beyond the facade. Who is this person? What is their story? Who are we as a community?
We pass some of these faces everyday and they often go unnoticed. Yet here on this wall they cannot go unnoticed. Think beyond the faces, think beyond the facades, because these are constantly changing. Remember that individually we have a story but also collectively we have a story.
I’m passionate about bringing art to the people and making it accessible. And that’s one of the reasons why I like public art. It’s fun, it’s exciting, it’s engaging, IT’S IN YOUR FACE! This project is a reflection of that. The locations of the installment are important. For this project I wanted to capture some of the local faces and put them back on the street. Placing the posters in a prominent location played an important role in making the photos unmissable.
Have you seen these faces?