GPS (HC411)
Catalogue Record
Collection
Maker
Vanessa Rolf
Title
GPS
Date
2004
Materials and techniques
Digitally and hand embroidered wool felt
Dimensions
length: 112.5cm
width: 44.5cm
depth: 0.1cm
Object number
HC411
Category
Maker's statement
This series of works focused on notions of topography and ownership, specifically the contradictions between those of Australian Aboriginal peoples and western settlers. The pieces were an attempt to understand a landscape purely through its depiction in maps; an imagined journey across on the largest limestone dessert in Australia, the Nullarbor Plane. The work questioned the role that charting technologies play in imperialistic ventures and claims on land and resources; operating in direct opposition to Aboriginal understanding, where landscapes are not depicted visually but orally and can only be understood by directly travelling through them.