Visual Arts & Film

Searching for Ghosts of Desire

A search for queer stories of the women who occupied the grounds of Abbotsford Convent.

FREE EVENT
Sessions & Tickets
A projection onto a wall covered in pinned handkerchiefs, an image imagines two ghost figures huddled together. They are wearing colourful flowing cloaks and their faces are covered by large hats.
The image features a colourful projection of ghosts with bright orange hair, striking dynamic poses on a fabric backdrop with embroidered designs. Dominant colours include red, white, and orange, with a mix of green hues.
The image shows a red and white projection on a door in a worn, dark-walled room, with a fire extinguisher mounted on the wall. The projection is partially distorted by the door's texture and glass panes.

Image Credit: Dr Lisa Anderson

A projection onto a wall covered in pinned handkerchiefs, an image imagines two ghost figures huddled together. They are wearing colourful flowing cloaks and their faces are covered by large hats.
The image features a colourful projection of ghosts with bright orange hair, striking dynamic poses on a fabric backdrop with embroidered designs. Dominant colours include red, white, and orange, with a mix of green hues.
The image shows a red and white projection on a door in a worn, dark-walled room, with a fire extinguisher mounted on the wall. The projection is partially distorted by the door's texture and glass panes.

  • Artist: Dr Lisa Anderson

  • Hosted by: Abbotsford Convent

  • Supported by: This project is supported by the Victorian Government through Creative Victoria.

This installation work was created as the Artist-in-Residence at Abbotsford Convent. I found myself searching for the queer and secret and imagined stories of women who were residents associated with the convent, gardens, school and the laundry.
The residents were a mix of those seeking shelter and those sent there by family, church, and state, as well as women with religious vocations.

I was looking among these architectural forms and their shadows for love, lust, and friendship among the many women who passed through here.

These historic buildings and gardens with traces of the Gothic and the hidden gods and ghosts foster a sense of otherness, that space of outsiders where Queer stories are historically lost and found.

I searched for the ghosts... I hope they find each other in the shadows and make their presence known.

About Dr Lisa Anderson | Shinyshinyworld

Dr. Lisa Anderson has created and exhibited internationally for over 40 years, undertaking exploration and scientific residencies working with landscape/urbanscape/topographies through a prism of stories found in folklore and superstition as memories of place. Residencies include remote locations in the High Arctic and Antarctic, and locations such as Paris, London, Ireland and Iceland. Installations include the St Tropez Antipodes, Boston Lights, MardiGras 798 in Beijing and the Toronto, Hong Kong and Amsterdam Art Fairs by London Gallery Bicha, and also locally at Customs House in Sydney and Wollongong and Ballarat City Galleries. As the Rupert Bunny Fellow 2023 for Port Phillip, she created the exhibition 'Beguiling' at the Victorian Pride Centre with images using tales of gods and sprites that help explain nature.

Dr Anderson is the 2024 Artist-in-Residence at Abbotsford Convent working with the queer ghosts of memory and the folklore that surrounds them. Anderson's work is in public and corporate collections internationally. The video, 'Searching for Ghosts' created here is currently a part of the Fringe for Venice Biennale 2024.

lisaanderson.com.au

  • Duration: Come and go as you please

  • Event Accessibility: Deaf or Hard of Hearing Rating: Partially Accessible, English no barrier

  • Age suitability: PG

  • Event warnings: Contains Sustained Bright Lights, Some Infrequent/Low Pressure Audience Interaction.

The venue floor is rough and uneven, but is step-free.
Objects in the exhbition are strewn about the space with low lighting – not suitable for children.

  • Abbotsford Convent — Industrial School
    1 St Heliers St, Abbotsford, VICTORIA, 3067

    Wheelchair Access

    Abbotsford Convent — Industrial School is wheelchair accessible. All ground floor areas are wheelchair accessible. This includes the Industrial School, the Magdalen Laundry, the Oratory and the Packing Room. There is a lift to the first floor offices.

    There is step-free access to the venue. Wheelchair users enter at the main entrance. There are uneven footpaths throughout the grounds.

    There are 2 two-hour accessible on-street parking spaces located on St Heliers Street, beside Gate One. There are six accessible parking places are located at the front of the car park on the northern side of St Heliers Street. There is also a car park located within a short distance of Gate One. The entrance is near a dedicated pedestrian thoroughfare and road cross over.

    There are accessible toilets at this venue, though not all toilet doors are automatic.

    Get directions See all events at this venue See detailed venue & access information

  • Free Event

*Prices are subject to change without notice. Standard terms and conditions apply.

Sessions: In Person Events

Date Time Venue

Friday, 04 October 2024

6:00pm

Abbotsford Convent — Industrial School

Saturday, 05 October 2024

6:00pm

Abbotsford Convent — Industrial School

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