Virtual Rangoli for Biota Street

Gobo extension to Village Precinct Project – Biota Street, Inala
Biota Street VPP + Safe Communities
Brisbane City Council Project for Inala, Queensland, 2020.
In collaboration with CREATIVEMOVE

This project allows us to build upon projects undertaken in 2019 when we completed works that referenced natural plant forms found on location. The artworks were informed by the historical framing of suburban Inala and the development of distinct areas of housing which occurred over the last 70 years.

Homes are found in streets named for Birds, Trees and Constellations (Stars). This convention has established a strong sense of identity with residents.
 
Inspiration was also drawn from traditional cultural practices of many citizens who comprise Inala, a community that welcomes individuals from backgrounds including Vietnamese, Samoan, Indian, Sri Lankan and Somali. 
 
My research has sourced an array of visual languages that express cultural identity through motif and pattern. I sought to utilise these elements to create a design that integrates diverse forms into a unified and engaging result, such as the circular forms found in traditional floor designs such as the Buddhist Mandala or created as Rangoli patterning found in India. In both traditions large areas are built up by positioning multiple elements into a circular form that is most usually created on the ground or on a floor. 
 
The installation of a Gobo projector allows the work to be extended in a way that returns the initial research by presenting artworks that are in effect virtual rangoli designs. 
 
Traditionally designs are created using pigment or powdered grains, thus highly ephemeral. Our projects will be rotated across an extended period of months to present a longer and more durable viewing experience. The inclusion of patterns created collaboratively by the artist and individual members of the Inala Art Gallery allow for another layer of meaning and lived experience from local people to be showcased. The variety of designs produced reflect the diversity and energy of the Inala community.

Process and concept development

Biota Street Festival 2019 bunting designs

Translation of motifs and workshop participants' bunting into Rangoli designs for gobo projections

Biota Street Village Precinct Project gobo projections

Photography by Mandy Ridley.