Where I’m sitting in the MCA offices is quite a good spot for “intercepting nutrient flows”.
I was trying to explain this to Jo, who manages the Generation Next programme (groovy activities for highschool students), after she walked by on her way to visit the design department.
Precisely because of my allocated position within the office (at a junction between the water cooler, the registration/conservation gals, graphic design, the preparators and Dee from Human Resources) I am able to nod and chat to a whole bunch of people walking by.
If I were a convenience store, I’d be happy with my real estate situation.
This morning, on one such drive-by, I intercepted Ian and Dan, two of the members of Future Farmers, an American artist group who have just arrived and are participating in the upcoming exhibition. They told me they are planning to construct some sort of alcohol still for the production of biodiesel, using found fallen fruit. I think that’s correct, I could be wrong. They’re going to use old bike parts and other dinky bits and pieces to make this contraption.
As a result of this chance encounter we were able to ascertain:
-That they’re looking to meet Sydney locals who have their own backyard distilleries or biofuel production facilities (I’ve put them in touch with my friend Rohan, a denizen of such extra-legal tinkerings);
-That they need to source an old bicycle for their work here (I’ve offered a spare bike which lives under our house, belonging to my neighbour Ricardo. In true Duchampian tradition, it’ll imminently be transformed into Art);
-That they want to print a FutureFarmers poster for the show (Big Fag Press might be able to help out there);
-And that they’re happy to work with me to audit their own production processes in the making of this new work (Dan and Ian said that the FutureFarmers is often held up as an example of a “sustainable” art group. This is a claim they are uncomfortable with, and they’ll be keen to debunk it by taking stock of all the inputs and outputs of their practice here in Sydney).
Here are Ian and Dan, posing in front of the MCA’s mobile PA system, which they seemed rather fascinated by:
