Belonging, 2022
Belonging, glass, neon and metal sculpture photographed at dawn near Station Pier, Port Melbourne, Australia, 5th February 2022
Belonging is a site-specific contemporary art installation by Alex Lark. Created amongst the sand dunes of Port Melbourne where members of the artist’s family arrived a generation before by boat after their homeland was seized following World War II.
Watch the video:
A brief history
Station Pier
Operating for more than 160 years Station Pier was opened on 12 September 1854, formerly known as Railway Pier.
Immigration
Historically, Station Pier has been Australia’s welcoming point for generations of new arrivals. Between 1949 and 1966, an average of 61,000 passengers arrived every year, reaching 110,802 at its peak in 1960.
It was not uncommon to have four migrant vessels berthed at the same time and thousands of new arrivals disembarking in one day.
Station Pier, Port Melbourne 1938 | Source: Victorian Ports Melbourne
Artist statement
I suppose we exist in many places at once. Both in the physical present, but also a memory of the past and a dream of the future. Some self created truth of all these timelines as a story we tell.
I grew up in one place. Kind of. A side of the world close to half my family, and far from the other. My Dad is an immigrant. My Mum is the daughter of immigrants. I am currently an immigrant.
I know exactly what it is to belong, and I have no idea.
I know exactly what it is to belong, and I have no idea. I love listening to the stories of how my family came to be, reading diary entries from centuries ago. As made sense by me looking at it all backwards from this present moment.
I remember coming home one day to my brother getting a stick and poke tattoo from his friend in the living room of Lina’s name on his ankle.
My Great Aunt Lina, my Grandfather Otto, and my Grandmother Agnes were a constant presence in my early life. Each of their passings was so heavy and equally light to me back then. A young person, so fortunately clueless of death. I remember coming home one day to my brother getting a stick and poke tattoo from his friend in the living room of Lina’s name on his ankle. In my later teenage years, I carried their memory in many ways. One of which was an old trunk. An early suitcase of sorts, with a shipping stamp hand painted sometime in the middle of the 20th century. It was from the pier down the street, that Lina had carried her possessions in, after the great loss of her family home and country, when she arrived in the small coastal town of Port Melbourne.
My home was a short walk from that pier my entire childhood. As an adult I run past the pier when I visit home from the places I live. From the places I may call home. From the places I belong. There’s no beginning and end to it all. I suppose we exist in many places at once.”
Detail of wire terminal sealed inside glass tubing connected to copper sleeve inside, Melbourne 2022
In studio tests, Melbourne 2022
