Tracing Place

Geelong Design Week is an event that celebrates the rich culture of the Bellarine Peninsula, with Collide artists having the opportunity to contribute to 2022’s exhibit in an impactful way.

Tracing place was created by Michaela McHugh and Lucy Allinson under the mentorship of Joel Zika and James Voller of Collide. The two artists, both local to the Geelong and Surf Coast regions, produced a deeply reflective work in the form of Tracing place, transforming Little Malop Street with enormous digital projections onto a screen of water mist. 

Through their usage of technology as well as place-focused storytelling, Michaela and Lucy succeeded in reimagining the way art is interacted with and designed for public space. Pairing a large screen with a surround sound system, the artists created an immersive experience in the heart of Geelong’s Market Square. The four-metre-high wall of water at the centre of the piece further brought people into its fold, encouraging exhibition-goers to touch and walk through the space. 

As locals, Michaela and Lucy rely heavily on field research within their community. Michaela’s work involves sourcing and reinterpreting objects through photography, installation and sculptural pastiche, while Lucy draws maps of the local environment and conducts audio surveys. The audio element of Tracing place is in fact driven by Lucy’s sound recordings of recent thunderstorms in the Bellarine, with these recognisable sound events drawing people towards the work and connecting both artists’ interpretations of nature and space.

Supported by the Creative Communities grant from the Geelong City Council and Platform Arts Space, Collide was able to make the artists’ visions come to life. Playing with the fearsome beauty of nature, Tracing place created a memorable experience for locals and visitors alike.