Fasten your seatbelt and prepare for take-off. You’re going on a journey through time and space at the Casula Powerhouse Arts Centre’s (CPAC) exploration of flight from 21 January to 11 June 2023.
There are sky high thrills for children, designers, artists and art enthusiasts as ‘Flight’ discusses and deconstructs air travel, including a look at the new international Nancy Bird Walton Airport and Aerotropolis at Badgerys Creek.
“It’s a chance of a lifetime to look at air travel from a fascinating new perspective,” said Liverpool Mayor Ned Mannoun.
“This exhibition is a perfect opportunity to re-engage with the idea of flight after the unprecedented break caused by the pandemic.
“And as we eagerly await the 2026 arrival of the Western Sydney International airport named after Nancy Bird Walton, we can take an in-depth look at the history, future, culture and impact of aviation.”
The centrepiece of the project is the blockbuster exhibition featuring major new artworks by established Australian and local artists, specially commissioned by CPAC.
‘Flight’ also features significant pieces from the Museum of Applied Arts and Science, including models of aircraft, Nancy Bird Walton Collection pieces and the famous 42 Barbie and Ken Dolls collection dressed in replicas of Qantas uniforms from across the decades.
Accompanying the six-month exhibition is an ambitious suite of public programs, films, kids activities, fun days, reimagined ‘in-flight’ dining and workshops guided by local experts and creatives to create deep engagement with Flight’s themes.
Taking off on 21 January 2023 at 2pm at a launch by Hon Ben Franklin MLC, NSW Minister for the Arts and Liverpool Mayor Ned Mannoun, ‘Flight’ is simultaneously celebratory and critical, excited about the return of flight yet concerned about its ongoing impact on the environment. It will also be an opportunity to critically engage with the impact of the airport and surrounding redevelopments.
Exhibition details
Flight | 21 January 2022 – 27 February 2022 | Free entry
Launch | 21 January 2022 – 2pm
Website: www.casulapowerhouse.com/casula-powerhouse-exhibitions/flight
Media Contact: Craig Donarski CPAC Director - 0439 410 378
Exhibition external program/resource partners
- Museum of Applied Arts & Sciences
- Western Sydney University
- UNSW Art & Design
‘Flight’ will feature the following artists:
- Isabel & Alfredo Aquilizan – installation inviting audiences to create imaginative aeroplane parts out of cardboard to engage themes of travel, migration and journey.
- Claire Healy & Sean Cordeiro - major installation for the Turbine Hall at CPAC incorporating two salvaged aeroplane wings arranged to reference kite displays.
- Gandangara Local Aboriginal Land Council – wall installation of boomerangs to form the Gandangara Map and to show the New Badgerys Creek International Airport within Boundaries plus seven photographs by Rob Camiere.
- Linda Brescia – multi-media installation telling the stories of ‘aviatrix’ including Nancy Bird Walton
- Garry Trinh - his most ambitious work to date – using skywriting to produce an abstract painting in the sky with the audience watching.
- Chris Caines – a multi-media artwork using materials found in Farewell to Badgerys Creek archive of images and oral histories held by the Liverpool City Library, showcasing stories of the airport and its influence on the Liverpool community.
- Fei Gao – 3D open-world drone racing game following a player’s rebellion against an urban cityscape, responding to drone racing subcultures and their approach to adapting the urban environment to their desired use of space.
- Claire Grant – a series of abstract landscapes in cyanotype and encaustic wax, inspired by her work as a flight attendant, exploring the aerial perspectives from her ‘office window’.
- Samuel Hodge – photo collage installation exploring the theme of making connections while travelling overseas and creating a sense of home in temporary spaces.
- Amy Perejuan-Capone – replica microlight aircraft made in collaboration with her father reflecting on family memories and flight as a recreational activity carrying the potential for feelings of freedom, exhilaration and danger.
- Anna Madeleine Raupach – mixed media artwork exploring how the expansion of human networks of global transportation directly correlates to the decline of non-human worlds.
EDITOR’S NOTES
Casula Powerhouse Arts Centre
The Casula Powerhouse is a multi-disciplinary art centre located on Tharawal Country in South West Sydney, with six galleries and a variety of permanent and temporary exhibitions. Casula Powerhouse, which has a 321-seat theatre, hosts a variety of theatre and cinematic shows each year by some of Australia's most renowned companies and touring productions. The Casula Powerhouse, a proud facility of Liverpool City Council and sponsored by Arts Council NSW, continually draws on the qualities of its community to create work that resonates with people everywhere.
Liverpool City Council
Located in South West Sydney and one of the oldest urban settlements based on agriculture, Liverpool strives to be "the vibrant regional city of opportunity, prosperity and diversity" for its community. Liverpool City Council governs 42 suburbs with residents from various cultures and ethnic backgrounds.
Media Contact: Jennifer Havilah 0421 829 913 havilahj@liverpool.nsw.gov.au
Casula Powerhouse Instagram: @casulapowerhouse
Instagram: @liverpoolcitycouncil Facebook: Liverpool City Council Australia
Amy Perjuan-Capone The Plane (dreamer) 2019. Detail. Ceramic engine and parts, aluminium, found objects. Image courtesy of the artist.