I’ll post some pictures of the dismantling soon…

- – -

Hi Lucas

sorry I kept meaning to forward you this email from Dan but… well you know… time…

Anyway in the end Amy, Dan, Ian and I decided to go down the dismantling then recycling / re-using / returning route for the Sunshine Still and Sun Runner. It is a pity because I would have liked to see the sculptures kept intact – but on the other hand this is what we had always planned to do.

Thanks for all your help with this and for incorporating it into your project – which has been a great success.

cheers

Anna

- – -

From: Dan from Future Farmers
Sent: Wednesday, 27 October 2010 7:05 PM
To: Anna at the MCA

Hi Anna,

Great to hear from you!

I came up with some possible plans:

1. Fiberglass the sun runner cover, turning it into the hull for a ship, use the still as the mast for the sail. Sail back to the US

2. Sink the sculptures on the great barrier reef, creating habitats for fish and coral. Go scuba diving, spearfishing and take pictures with it.

3. Leave on Julia Gillard’s doorstep in the middle of the night.

In all seriousness, after seeing how things are recycled in the museum, i think it is a great idea to reuse that material in house. Much of the material that went into it was reused and it would be good to see it go once more through the cycle. I know that the bike place would love those bike parts, The art school would love that steel,, MCA could use most of that wood all over again, chris probably wants that awesome gear system that he spent so much time on tell chris i said hi

I think it would nice to see how much the sculptures could be reused, lucas could take pictures for his blog, its not often that people get to see that part of the process.

Also, I don’t think its necessary to return the sun runner cover, unless amy has any objection, ( i know that there is a possibility that it could be recreated in the near future). I would like some copies of Lucas’s print of our audit drawing.

Anna, Thanks so much for a great experience, we had fun, caused a little trouble, and everything worked out. You were truly a pleasure to work with THANK YOUU!!!

Sincerely,
Dan

- – -

On Oct 26, 2010, at 11:48 PM, Anna wrote:

Hi Amy, Dan and Ian

I hope you’re all happy and well.

So the time has finally come for the In the Balance exhibition to come down – it will finish on Sunday. Unfortunately, after a lot of local enquiries we have not been able to find a suitable home for the Sunshine Still. It a real pity but on the other hand it has been an absolute pleasure having it on display at the MCA for all this time.

As I said, it has been a real crowd pleaser and staff favourite. Starting from Monday the install crew will dismantle the work, salvaging and re-using as many of the materials as we can. If you like, I can see if there are any small parts of the sculpture that we might be able send to you in the US — I was thinking perhaps we could send the fabric covering for the Sun Runner and the alcohol moonshining instruments – along with (as discussed): Dan’s drawings, the laptop and dynamo . Please let me know if this is something you’d like to look into?

Anyway, hopefully this is not too much of a sad ending!

It has been a real pleasure working with you all and Im really looking forward to hearing about your new works in the pipeline.

All the best

Anna

BTW here are those green web hosting links I mentioned: http://www.delicious.com/cogat/green+hosting. Best overview at http://news.oreilly.com/2008/06/building-the-green-data-center.html.

where are you guys? i need carl to do his silly bicycle dance to ward off the evil spirits of climate change!

we wish you were here so we could draw on the walls.

jen and carl

A belated note of appreciation to acknowledge all the contributions to ‘Environmental Audit’s attention to the processes of exhibition review. I must note that I was not responding to John McDonald’s review. Rather, I was reflecting on your need to contain the potential scope of the project given the time and energy available.

As you deliberated about what could still be covered, while allowing space for new issues to arise, I needed to put my hand up and stress that the issue of reviewing should not be left out. This is because, as you have stated, the broader philosophical question of how value is ascribed to human endeavours underpins all your auditing activities.

Also, while the presentation of exhibitions is related to, it is not the same as vital activities such as specific art projects, participatory actions and campaigns which Catriona refers to. Exhibitions have their own protocols for reviewing which are interweave all gallery-sited relationships. I have appreciated the opportunity to think about how these inherited ‘auditing’ processes relate to emerging approaches to evaluation and assessment of which Environmental Audit is an expression.

Jasmin

Mum writes:

Yes
There are apparently huge pockets of the US that still believe in creationism – against all evidence to the contrary and against all knowledge of human nature and psychology and history which shows we absolutely need to mythologise our history and beliefs…

Have you read Margaret Atwood’s Oryx and Crake? I was fascinated at the end to find that the new generation of humans devising rituals against all odds and manoeuvres to the contrary…

I’d love to know if it floats and even sails!

The ark, of course, is relevant to this discussion, as it was the original method of saving biodiversity during a massive rise in global sea levels…

However, I googled around and found the following. Catriona and Jasmin, here are a few more reviews of the show for your perusal:

To Keep Your Balance You Must Keep Moving by Elliot Shields

In The Balance by Genevieve Barry