Bark and Bristle, Will Heathcote and Hannah Raisin: A collection of new work from both artists developed as part of a residency at Watch this Space Artist run Initiative in Alice Springs.

This exhibition is made up of site-specific experiments that map the relationship between various organisms and their material surroundings. All the works are derived from locations in and around Alice Springs in recent weeks and respond to the character of this country.

As a collection of experiments the work includes the physical tracing of land through visceral actions, excavations into the abandoned civilisations that weave through the earth, cast rocks that resemble the fossilised trace of the prehistoric and concrete reproductions of the iconic ant hills that characterise the Northern Territory landscape.

The presentation of these actions speaks of the prolific yet intrinsically fragile relationship between any animal and its environment. These are reflections on how an inhabitant informs its landscape as much as the landscape shapes the individual. A multi-layered view of an ecosystem that is made up and shaped entirely by bark and bristle.

See a running blog detailing parts of this arts program at: http://hoteljuliet60.wordpress.com/

This project has been assisted by the Australian Government through the Australia Council, its arts funding and advisory body.