Artist: Tor Lindstrand Work: Old Balgo Mission (2016-17) Partner: Warlayirti Artists Location: Balgo, Western Australia
As an architect Tor Lindstrand's interest and response to the history of the built environment of Balgo looks at how the recent colonial past still reverberates through the community, how Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal people alike still try to adjust to the impact of these structures.
From his residency and subsequent bush trips together with the artists from Warlayirti Artists, Tor gathered information about the old mission, sites and paths of importance and stone quarries for the institutions of Balgo.
His project for North by Southeast consisted of two parts. The first a commission of paintings by artists from Balgo, showing histories and landscapes physically overlapping the sites of the old and the new mission. Secondly, a series of architectural survey drawings based on information found at the sites. Combined they tell stories about fundamental change of history, culture, and everyday life.
