Caitlin Fargher Renewable

Caitlin Fargher, Renewable

Renewable is an exhibition experimentally engineered by Caitlin Fargher made with clay and minerals sourced from the dammed rivers of lutruwita/Tasmania, cheap technology, recycled metal, wind, solar and water. Part response to the give and take in creating renewable energy within the Climate Crisis, as precious minerals, ancient rivers, and stolen land are used to service a world with ever increasing electricity needs. And part a reckoning with family history, as the

granddaughter of Frank Kinstler, a Hydro Electric Commission (HEC) dam engineer. This exhibition explores the way her family’s past and present have affected lutruwita’s environment, but also what practical tools and knowledge her family has given her to tackle the very current and overwhelming problem of resource over consumption.

Wobbly powerlines made from melted pewter, fragile wind turbines made from fishbones and salvaged myrtle, warped electric insulators and water turbines made from recycled clay and glazed in ash from the trees of dam sites. Here lie the tensions in engineering systems that use natural resources for human need, whilst embracing the handmade, recycled and resourcefulness of people in lutruwita/Tasmania. Can we really create systems that acknowledge and engage deeply with environments and land for a better, electrical future? Or, do we want for too much?

Fabrication assistance: Ollie McKay, Ben Paul

Sound design: Matthew Fargher

With thanks to Poatina Arts (a significant site in Tasmania’s Hydroelectric history), initial sculptures made during Residency in November 2024