The Negotiations series is an ongoing body of work (developed as part of my honours practical) that examines the current relationship between Australia and ‘the Orient’. Edward Said, in his influential text Orientalism (1976), refers to the Orient as an ‘imagined geography’ constructed throughout history by the west through literature and visual imagery.
Notions of the exotic and mysterious ‘other’ blend with the dangerous barbaric. Such ideas and attitudes can be seen to permeate contemporary society in a post 9/11 world. While parts of the Middle East (considered part of the Orient) are seen as desirable and exotic tourist hotspots, other locations present a dangerous threat as the heart of terrorist territory. The Negotiations series explores the tensions between the perceived simultaneous desire and repulsion of the Orient, as manifested in contemporary Australian society.
a manically charged present 