In 2017 I made a publication about We Don’t Have to Be The Building, a major public art installation shown on Courtenay Place, Wellington, in 2016.
The work was made to commemorate the 30th anniversary of Homosexual Law Reform this year, and looked at the past, present & future of queer female sexualities and activism. In researching for this project, I worked in the Lesbian and Gay Archives NZ and I created various story-sharing events, so that I could listen to and weave together many different people’s experiences for the work. I interviewed people directly, and ran workshops called Let’s Talk About Sex. My intention was to ensure that the voices and stories not held in the archives could also be heard and acknowledged.
More than 100 people contributed in some way to the colourful, messy, bodily, glitter-speckled assemblages that resulted. The publication is an attempt to capture the methodology and experience of making the project, which was based in fully informed consent, and exchange of offers. It includes my own writing on the process, images and collages, and an essay about the project by Ellie Lee-Duncan.
It’s free to download, and I’d love to hear what you think!
Sian Torrington Artist 