Collective stories

By CASEY NEILL
HILLS youths are producing and displaying a provocative art series in a new creative space in Belgrave.
Episodic is the brainchild of the tiffaney bishop COLLECTIVE and is a visual and narrative-based project that presents candid and emotive stories about local young people.
The stories will be told in instalments on the walls of a Belgrave Arcade shopfront converted into a gallery, distributed in postcards and posters, posted online, and written in chalk on local footpaths.
“They were staring at me and talking in whispers…” is the first instalment and is currently on display.
“The multiple engagement opportunities invites a broad audience to engage with the project and the serialised nature of the work encourages an extended relationship with the work,” Sassafras artist Tiffaney Bishop said.
“The stories are all real life experiences of young people.”
About 12 teens are involved in this new project. They moved into their exhibition and work space on 31 May with support from a Yarra Ranges Council community arts grant.
Ms Bishop previously worked on a photography project with troubled Upwey youths known as the SCUMPUPS at the town’s railway station.
She also last year spearheaded the youth-created and produced hoodie magaZine, which was one of five nominees for Best Designed General Illustrated Book at last month’s Australian Publisher Association’s Book Design Awards and a finalist for the Express Media’s Literary/Book Awards’ “best new publication for and by young people under 30”.
Next on Ms Bishop’s to-do list is a public art project aimed at curbing the tagging problem in Upwey and surrounds.
“With the support and input of the Upwey Township Group, a small section between the Upwey station and the bike path will be artistically activated,” she said.
“Instead of the usual aerosol art approach, we will be making and displaying contemporary artworks including paintings, drawings, poetry, sculpture, prints, photography, performances, and installations.”
Ms Bishop said her collective was designed to engage young people in the arts and contribute to broader social and cultural change.
“While we acknowledge that the works we make may well get tagged or defaced, we’d like to think that over time we will have a positive cultural impact on the space and the way young people engage with it,” she said.
“The young people involved will also take on the responsibility for restoring and refreshing the space over the pilot time frame of months.
“Our work can be provocative, but we pride ourselves on it also being intelligent, responsible and aesthetically appealing.
“We are keenly aware of engaging both adults and young people in the work and gaining broad community respect and acknowledgment.”
The tiffaney bishop COLLECTIVE studio gallery is at Shop 7, 1647 Burwood Highway, Belgrave.
Visit www.tiffaneybishopcollective.com for more information.
Keep an eye on the Mail each week for a new instalment.