WHEN : 1st – 30th June
Artists Laura Luck and Nick Nielsen will be turning Brisbane’s public phone booths into places to experience stories from the city’s past. The stories are taken from an extensive series of interviews with a diverse range of city residents. Every day a new highlight will become available from a 1800 number.
The artists envision the project to be a fun way to discover the personal history of Brisbane, mapping what impact politics, development and technology have made on people’s lives.
Laura Luck, an alumni of the Lord Mayor’s fellowship for excellence in the visual arts, has worked across Europe and North America for the past 6 years. ‘Calling the Past’ marks her return home to the city that launched her career. The project is the latest in a series of collaborations with sound artist and engineer Nick Nielsen, who’s credits range from underground punk and reggae groups to international acts Iron & Wine and Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds.
Laura says, ‘I initially envisioned the project as a smart phone application, but Nick wanted the project to be more accessible to everyone, which is where the idea of using phone boxes to share the stories came from. It also felt significant to us as phone booths have a history of being public sites for sharing stories and making contact.’
The artists are still looking for stories that range from the heart warming to the nonsensical. If you have a story from the city to share than you can contact the artists at callingthepast@gmail.com, or leave a message on 3040 5703