Arthur Wicks Australian artist

sand memories
image	details	general commentary	artist's running commentary
the Dunes
	The original sand dunes progressively photographed across 5 years beginning in 1974.	Sand memories is a complex series of works which began in 1975. It originated on the beach and sand dunes of Durras on the New South Wales South Coast. A specific and prominent set of sand dunes were selected as the base of the work. The entirety of the selected sand dune system was photographed as a series of static images assembled as a single panoramic statement. Between 1975 and 1978 this same set of sand dunes was re-photographed into panoramic images to record their response to the effect of weathering. Photographic prints of the resulting nine panoramic images were glued onto thin board and in 1978 these boards were buried into the sand dunes themselves. In a metaphorical sense the sand dunes were digesting their own history.
	This image shot around 1980 at the time of performance Journey from Low Tide to High Tide
	Images of each of the sand dune panoramas were glued to thin board and buried into the dunes themselves. These are the images dug out from the sand many months later.
Performance Sand Memory at Durras
	Selected images from the performance "Sand Memories at Durras"; on the sand dunes at Durras 1976. Videotapes onto U-matic video and several years later edited into a format that was used publicly.	In 1979 a performance work titled "Sand Memories at Durras" took place on these identical sand dunes. Briefly, the action revolved around the locating and unearthing the buried board containing the original sand dune images and identifying these against a new set of dune images on similar boards; burying the entirety again in the sand dunes as well as burying the artist in a ritual closure to the work. This performance was videoed on U-Matic video.
	Selected images from the ritualised performance in the video studio at RCAE (now Charles Dturt University) and recorded into U-matic video.	As a foil to the "external" experiences, an "internal" studio performance was developed using a highly ritualised activity where the Broome Street environment was laid out on the studio floor in intricate detail then discarded; to be replaced by miniature objects developed from the Durras sand dunes experience. The studio performance mirrored the external performances but in a tighter more contained space. This was videoed on colour U-Matic equipment.
	Before leaving for New York, "Sand Memories at Durras" was performed at the Institute of Contempory Art (ICA) Sydney 1977. Ritualised actions involving only the dunes.
Performance Sand Memories at Durras at Broome St
	Performance at the Pratt Graphic Center, New York, New York, January 1977	Later, in 1977, the artist was on study leave in New York City at the Pratt Graphic Center. Here, he was able to develop and execute an ancillary performance on the corner of Broome Street and West Broadway which developed as "Sand Memories at Durras at Broome Street". Briefly, the action involved gluing the nine photographic panoramic images of the sand dunes onto Broome Street intersection in the nature of a pedestrian crossing. Their destruction by the traffic was recorded onto J format PortaPak video equipment. The videotapes, one from the Broome St performance and the other from the Durras performance were combined as black/white video in that order. The destruction of the images by the New York traffic was juxtaposed against the destruction and absorption of the Durras dunes themselves. The combined dual performances, recorded on black and white video could be considered as the "external" performances involving the pysical environment.
	Performance at the Pratt Graphic Center, New York, New York January 1977 the finale of the performance
	Montaged images of the 19thC buildings around the Broome St, West Braodway intersection.
the Prints
	Working Fragment for Sand Memories,- consisted of miniature panoramic images of the sand dunes with a linear map showing roughly their location,	A set of silkscreened prints were made in 1978 to be used as an installation together with a small monitor showing the Sand memories dual videotapes. Print one – Print two -, Print three –, Print four - .
	Sand memories at Broome Street - consisted of a stylised layout of the Broome Street/West Broadway space together with a linear location map,
	Sand memories III - consisted of the New York intersection in flattened format, balanced against a miniature set of the nine sand dunes.
the Kit in its entirety upper section of the Kit lower section of the Kit	Sand Memories Kit - containes two sections; the upper containing strips of patterned silkscreened paper with miniature images of the 19thC buildings surrounding the intersection, the lower being a larger granular surface containing the ghost linear image of the New York intersection: all sewn into a large polythene bag. This "Kit" is an invitation for the owner (should they wish) to develop their own ritual according to their own devised set of rules.
Performance Sand Memories at Durras at Broome St (continued)
	The "Sand Memories" was performed as a contribution to the Sydney Biennale 1979, with the satellite Alternatives at the Sculpture Centre, Sydney.	The two videotapes; the black-and-white external performances and the coloured interior studio performance were always meant to be seen synchronously with one set of images playing against the other. As a result, there are two sets of videotapes; one which contains the double images as a dual screen, and two as separate videotapes to be synchronised independently.
	Later performed in its entirety at the Experimental Art Foundation (EAF) in Adelaide, organised by Noel Sheridan.