Pieces of Place – The Hoffman brick as an urban artifact

Pieces of Place – The Hoffman brick as an urban artifact

Opening night Friday 25th Aug 6pm-8pm
Exhibition 26th Aug - 10th Sep 2017

Mr Kitly gallery (participating in Radiant Pavilion 2017 - Melbourne's Contemporary Jewellery and Object Biennial)
381 Sydney Road
Brunswick 

Curated by Sarah Heyward
Artists: Kim Jaeger, Emma Grace, Andy Hutson, Kate Hill, Lindy McSwan and Sarah Heyward

The way we live in our urban environments is changing. As our neighbourhood landscapes grow taller and busier, the changing skyline provokes mixed feelings in our communities and suburbs. The unearthing of the clay, the soil and stone and the collapsing of the bricks and mortar leaves us wondering about the lives and stories which have occupied these sites: the land, the walls and ceilings, the factories and sheds. We wonder who made these bricks that built these walls?

The Brunswick Hoffman Brickworks was established in 1870 on the Albert Street clay pits. The works produced many of the bricks with clay from these pits; they were used in many buildings around inner Melbourne in the housing boom of that period. Using the Hoffman brick as a point of enquiry, six artists responded to this as a found urban artifact.  The exhibiting artists all received one brick from a demolished garage in Brunswick to work with. 

Image: Sarah Heyward. Instability brooch, 2017. Hoffman brick, mild steel, stainless steel, silver, enamel gloss. Photo: Brett Frost