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KALEIDOSCOPIC AN EXHIBITION FOR STRANGE TIMES

In the face of imposed isolation, social distancing measures that marginalise and contract societies, and the fear and disillusion the future holds, Tortuga Studios presents:

KALEIDOSCOPIC: an exhibition for strange times

It is a reaction, a visceral response to COVID-19, its devastating impact around the globe, and, more locally, the evisceration of Sydney’s arts quarter, the Inner West.

A rolling display of creative practice, KALEIDOSCOPIC is both greater than the sum of its parts and a tiny fragment of who we are as a creative community. A weekly rotation of artwork proudly installed in towering warehouse windows, overlooking Sydney Park, this exhibition is about finding tiny signs of beauty in a fractured world and nurturing the connection that we are missing.

It is our way of connecting artists and their audiences, of presenting work in isolation. You might glimpse it from a speeding window, read about it on social media or hear of it from a friend who wandered by, and while it might not be as tech savvy as a Zoom meeting, however you experience it, we hope KALEIDOSCOPIC entertains you.

THE BRICK FACTORY
Now in its twelfth year, Tortuga Studios is one of Sydney’s largest artist-run initiatives and proudly independent. It is a multidisciplinary warehouse studio space in St Peters with up to 40 creatives in residence at any given time, alongside 25 creative businesses at the aerie, our sister co-working space high in the eaves of the old brick factory.

Tortuga operates as a not-for-profit Incorporated Association. Among our crew are AV experts, setbuilders and props makers for film, theatre and TV, leatherworkers, jewellers, fine artists, installation artists, sculptors, writers, photographers, multi-media artists, street artists and performers.

The old brick factory is a meeting place, a shared space and a creative community in which to collaborate, explore, experiment, create, and engage, and Tortuga has become known for its edgy group exhibitions, producing that shine a light on the rich underground arts scene in Sydney, and it is proud to include many seminal Sydney artists among its friends.

IN THE TIME OF CORONA
As a space defined by its accessibility – to its creatives, to other artists, to collaborators, to the local community – Tortuga has had its purpose restricted immeasurably by the Corona virus pandemic and our role as a creative community space has been excised.

So, we’re doing what we always do: we’re adapting and improvising. And if Mohammad can no longer come to the mountain, we shall move the mountain… right into our front window.