Georgie Mattingley is currently working with the community of Karlkula / Kalgoorlie-Boulder. This residency forms part of one of Spaced’s current programs, Rural Utopias.

Georgie Mattingley is a visual artist based in Mparntwe-Alice Springs, Australia, making photographs, paintings, videos and public installations. Her work uses colour and beauty and to make society’s hidden spaces more visible.

Here, Georgie shares an update in update #4, ‘Diggers and Boulder Camp’

I am excited to be back in Kalgoorlie on my second residency for Rural Utopia. I will pick up right where I left off. Working with the assistance of many local artists during my first residency in Kalgoorlie (last year), we produced an oversized mural replica of the Goatcher Curtain (an historic painted curtain in Boulder Town Hall), with the Super Pit mine painted in the middle of the curtain.

In this second stage of my project, I am focusing on capturing the characters and faces that contribute to different aspects of utopian life in Kalgoorlie through a series of photoshoots.

My first photo at the Diggers and Dealers Mining Conference, hosted at the Goldfields Art Center. Diggers and Dealers is the largest mining conference in Australia, for important people in the mining industry to meet and talk business. Tickets to this conference cost thousands of dollars, with lavish servings of food and drink all inclusive throughout the day. Over 2000 people from all over the world travel to Kalgoorlie to attend each year.

On a tight schedule, in between luncheons and business meetings, I was lucky to snag the following the Managing Directors of WesTrac mining, Northern Star and Diggers and Dealers for a photo shoot in front of the curtain. Champagne bubbles. big smiles, clink. A huge success.

A big thank you to my emerging producers Owen Hinton and Chuck Thomas, who assisted with this photo shoot.

Boulder Camp is temporary accommodation situated on the outskirts of town, and on the precipice of the Super Pit, for people travelling to Kalgoorlie-Boulder from remote Aboriginal communities. The location is fascinating for its ridiculous proximity to the Super Pit. This photo shoot was facilitated with the assistance of Traditional Owner Gary Cooper, who drew my attention to a stark contrast between the heavily-funded mine site and the dilapidated facilities at Boulder Camp. There is no electricity. No accessible public phone and shelters are made of flimsy tin.

A huge thank-you to the many helping hands on that made this photo shoot possible:

Cultural Advisor - Gary Cooper
Photographic Assistance - Margaret Ellen Burns
Drone Footage - Chuck Thomas
Installation Assistance - Owen Hinton and Tim Hinton

Image credits: The Super Pit Curtain installed at Digger and Dealers Mining Conference; Directing my first models at Diggers and Dealers; Jim Walker posing with Super Pit Curtain, Managing Director of WesTrac; Stuart Tonkin with Super Pit Curtain, Chief Executive of Northern Star, operating Super Pit; Sharon Giorgetta and Myles Ertzen with Super Pit Curtain, owners of Diggers and Dealers; Interviewing with ABC Goldfields; Photoshoot with Super Pit Curtain at Boulder Camp; Gary, Emily and Walter with Super Pit Curtain at Boulder Camp.

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