I was building a house |
Das Kapital
2023 | Video | Colour | Sound | 3' 45" | 24fps
A sombre document of a failed private housing project in inner city Melbourne in the guise of a music video made amidst the aftermath of flash floods. A solitary man in an abandoned building site is seen forlornly gazing into nocturnal black pools of water and somewhere in a more hopeful, undeveloped landscape. Through song, he tells the viewer that they can take a picture, and he'll stand right there. The project's title takes its cue from Gene Hackman's dying words in the Clint Eastwood film Unforgiven (1992). Hackman, as the murderous racist sheriff Little Bill Daggett, lies dumbfounded on the floor of a Wild West Saloon, having discovered that the protections granted by home ownership under settler mentality can be a fleeting illusion. Featuring Angus Hamilton. Soundtrack courtesy of Bucket Men.
First exhibited in the site-specific film and video projection Das Kapital at 236-238 Chapel St, Prahran 30 November - 2 December 2023. Speech excerpts from Dr Edward Colless. Please visit the Catalogue by Karen ann Donnachie and Andy Simionato or the link for Das Kapital at NotFair
This Project was proudly supported by the City of Stonnington, with assistance from Cecil Place Precinct and the NotFair Art Foundation. It took place on the Traditional Lands of the Wurundjeri Woi Wurrung and Bunurong peoples of the East Kulin Nations and we pay our respect to their Elders past, present, and emerging. We extend that respect to all Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples. We acknowledge their living connection to Country, relationship with the land and all living things extending back tens of thousands of years.
Additional Screenings include
2026 NotFair Lust for Life