About the program
This conversation will discuss The Birds, a collaborative project by artists Jen Berean, Callum Morton and Linda Tegg at Monash University Museum of Art. The sculpture project aims to find ways for public art to contribute to the health of the flora and fauna of the places they are in and asks: what happens when the public art audience is expanded to include birds?
Participants
Callum Morton
Callum Morton is an artist, Professor of Fine Art at MADA (Monash Art Design and Architecture) and Director of MAP (Monash Art Projects). He has been exhibiting nationally and internationally since 1987. His public projects include Stonewash (2004) for the Istanbul Pedestrian Exhibition 2: Tunel-Karakoy, Turkey, Hotel (2008) on the Eastlink freeway in Melbourne, the permanent pavilion Grotto (2009) for the Fundament Foundation in Tilburg, the Netherlands, Silverscreen (2011) for the entrance to MUMA in Melbourne in 2010, Monument Park in Melbourne’s Docklands (2014), City Lights (2021) on the back facade of The ACE Hotel, Sydney, In Through the Out Door (2024) for the City of Sydney and The Underneath (2024) for the new Gadigal Station as part of the new Sydney Metro project. In 2007 Morton represented Australia at the Venice Biennale with his outdoor work Valhalla and in 2011 Morton’s work was the subject of a retrospective at Heide Museum of Modern Art, Melbourne.
Jen Berean
Jen Berean is an artist, architect and Associate Director of MAP (Monash Art Projects). Her collaborative art practice with Pat Foster (Foster Berean) was established in 2001 and together they have exhibited in Australia and internationally. Employing a diverse array of media and processes, their work unpicks the hidden systems that make up the sites and infrastructure that surrounds us. Foster Berean have been the recipients of several awards and residencies including the Australia Council residency at the ISCP, New York, Gertrude Studio Program, and the Monash University Prato Visual Arts Residency.
Linda Tegg
Linda Tegg’s artwork engages with life and the built environment. Her immersive installations and interventions aim to accumulate biodiversity and biodiverse perspectives within human-centred spaces. Interdisciplinary collaboration characterises much of her work. In 2018, she was a co-creative director of ‘Repair’ at the Australian Pavilion at the 16th International Architecture Biennale Venice with Baracco+Wright Architects. She created ‘Wetland’ in conversation with Balladong Whadjuk woman Vivienne Hansen for the Perth Festival in 2024. Linda works with cultural institutions and public space and has been widely exhibited in Australia, The United States, and Europe.
About The Birds
The Birds is a temporary, collaborative project by artists Jen Berean, Callum Morton and Linda Tegg. It aims to understand how public art can contribute to the health of the flora and fauna of the sites within which it sits.
The project uses the typology of the birdbath as starting point to create sculptural forms at the service of the local avian population. A series of rock types taken from and adapted to the surrounding architecture have been sculpted to hold water and, in some cases, provide shelter. For its duration, the artists are observing the interactions of the birds with the rocks in person and through the nearby webcams to learn and respond to their needs and preferences in this challenging urban environment.
Watch the livestream here.
About the Ian Potter Sculpture Court
Located prominently in front of MUMA, the Ian Potter Sculpture Court hosts a rotating schedule of ambitious and temporary public art. The Sculpture Court was designed in 2010 through a collaborative process between Kerstin Thompson Architects, Simon Ellis Landscape Architects and Fiona Harrisson, and received an urban design award from the Australian Institute of Landscape Architects in 2011.
Since 2012, MUMA has commissioned seven artists and collectives to create temporary public artworks for the Ian Potter Sculpture Court, supporting the integrated vision for art, architecture and landscape to activate and define the space.
Find out more about current and previous commissions here
Acknowledgements
This public program is presented in partnership with Melbourne Design Week. Find out more about what's programmed for MDW at Monash Art Design and Architecture here
Image: Jen Berean, Callum Morton, Linda Tegg (Monash Art Projects) with The Birds 2024. Installation view: Ian Potter Sculpture Court, Monash University Museum of Art, Naarm/Melbourne, 2024. Photo: Christian Cappuro