AiR@USC

Resident Artist
Residency Works
Original call (closed)

The AiR@USC, hosted by the University of the Sunshine Coast (USC) in the Sunshine Coast, Australia, is part of the Mistra Environmental Communication (Mistra-EC) research program, and offers the selected artist the opportunity to investigate and explore environment and sustainability issues through immersion in the Mistra-EC research that is ongoing at the USC. It is part of a larger residency program (AiR) coordinated by the Mistra Environmental Communication Media & Art team at the Institute of Communication Studies and Journalism at Charles University in Prague, Czech Republic, with additional support from the NGO Sqridge.

Resident Artist

Photo credit: Charlie Hillhouse

We are delighted to announce that Caitlin Franzmann has been selected as the resident artist for the AiR@USC to be performed in the Sunshine Coast, Australia! The residency will take place during March-April 2023.

Caitlin is an Australian artist who creates installations, sonic experiences and performances with a focus on place-based knowledge and embodied practices. She creates intimate situations for gathering, conversation and storytelling as a way to examine social histories and environmental issues specific to place. You can find out more about her work here.

During AiR@USC, Caitlin investigated regeneration of native plantation forests on the Sunshine Coast through engaging with Mistra-EC researchers and local community.

Click to read Caitlin’s blogpost about her reflections on the AiR@USC and her residency project.

Residency Works

OF KNOTS AND WHORLS

"Plants carry stories of places and people. Some of these stories are embedded with deep cultural knowledge, some offer moments for truth-telling and others prompt us to consider what it means to live sustainably. They are life, in all its delight and mayhem.

And when all is mixed together, we can ask, which stories will we water?"

‘Of Knots and Whorls’ is an ongoing creative research project by Caitlin Franzmann, developed during AiR@USC in Sunshine Coast, Australia (March-April 2023).

During the residency, Caitlin carried out field research in the native hoop pine plantations of the Mary Valley region, where her Danish ancestors ‘selected’ unceded land belonging to the Kabi Kabi/Gubbi Gubbi people. In addition to walking and observing the plantation ecosystems, She engaged in conversation with a local geographer/conservationist, historians, foresters, a farmer, and researchers of the Mistra Environmental Communication Programme (MISTRA-EC) at the University of Sunshine Coast in Australia.



Borders and edges throughout the plantations	Hoop Pines of Imbil State Forest plantation



Peeling bark of the Hoop Pine tree	Clear cut of Hoop Pine, Imbil State Forest plantation

As an outcome of this eco-cultural research, Caitlin created sculptural works guided by hoop pine, and more specifically their knots and whorling branches. Through what is often considered undesirable within the timber industry, she explored the knot as a meshwork of stories, feelings, histories and multi-species relations.



Circular form of hoop pine bark	Testing shed snake skin finish

'On the quiet surface' at Metro Arts

Caitlin's artworks produced during AiR@USC were presented as part of exhibition 'Artefacts of a Working Process' at Metro Arts, Brisbane during 24 June-15 July 2023.

Caitlin Franzmann, on the quiet surface (2023), hoop pine plywood and veneer, installation view. Image credit: Masimba Sasa and Kyle Wiese.

Image of artist in studio. Image credit: Carlia Fuller

The stories we water

In addition to the sculptural works, Caitlin delivered a collaborative participatory event with Sunshine Coast based artists Libby Harward and Dominique Chen as part of same exhibition on 24 June 2023. For the event ‘the stories we water’, Libby, Dominique and Caitlin each contributed a personally significant plant into an unfolding recipe of tales. To realise the recipe, participants were invited to join into processes of cracking, grinding, seeping, unforgetting, smelling, tasting and listening.

Dominique Chen, Caitlin Franzmann and Libby Harward, The stories we water (2023), participatory event at Metro Arts. Image credit: Masimba Sasa

Dominique Chen, Caitlin Franzmann and Libby Harward, The stories we water (2023), participatory event at Metro Arts. Image credit: Masimba Sasa

Original Call

Click to view the original open call for AiR@USC