2013 MURMUR (mûr m r) | An installation by Rosslynd Piggott

Murmur (mûr m r) noun.
1. A low, indistinct, continuous sound: spoke in a murmur; the murmur of the waves.
2. An indistinct, whispered, or confidential complaint; a mutter.
3. Medicine An abnormal sound, usually emanating from the heart, that sometimes indicates a diseased condition

An installation by guest curator, Melbourne-based artist Rosslynd Piggott as part of the annual ‘house of ideas’ series

Tour dates: Monday 1 July 2013 – Wednesday 23 October 2013

The Johnston Collection is delighted to welcome Melbourne-based artist, Rosslynd Piggott, to guest-curate the annual ‘house of ideas’ Fairhall tour. Murmur, opens on 1 July and runs until 23 October, 2013.

It was Melbourne-born antique dealer and benefactor William Johnston’s wish that his East Melbourne home, Fairhall, be regularly rearranged. In the ‘house of ideas’ series of rearrangements, past guest curators have included fashion designer, Akira Isogawa, architect, Pascale Gomes McNabb and fashion-house, Romance Was Born. The ‘house of ideas’ offers an opportunity to reinterpret William Johnston’s collection in new ways and The Johnston Collection is thrilled to have Piggott, one of Australia’s most acclaimed artists, to continue this exciting series.

Piggott is well-known for her exquisite ethereal paintings and multi-media installations as well as her work on collaborative projects with galleries and museums both nationally and internationally.
In thinking about the concept, Piggott will assemble objects, recollect memories of William Johnston and recall Fairhall as Johnston lived in it. Piggott will evoke the many facets of Johnston and his life - as a person, a collector and as a gardener. In her sensitive and thought-provoking rearrangement of Fairhall, Piggott will recapture the spirit of the house as Johnston might have lived in it.

Piggott will add to its history with images taken from the archives and layered into the interior. She will do this through the introduction of some of her own still and moving images as remembrances and responses to Johnston’s life, collection and garden. With light and shadow, she will also project her own footage of Johnston’s two beloved magnolias and camellias that will refract, reflect and exquisitely transform the Green Drawing Room.

Continuing with an underlying theme of her works, Piggott will create ‘both a conciliation and acknowledgement of the spirits who have lived there’.
The Johnston Collection, incorporating Fairhall house-museum, Gallery, Reference Library and Shop is a hidden treasure in the heart of Melbourne. Fairhall house-museum has three guided tours daily Monday to Friday. Bookings are essential.

The Johnston Collection was bequeathed by William Robert Johnston (1911-1986) to the people of Victoria, Australia and is administered as an independent Museum by The WR Johnston Trust.

Contact: 03 9416 2515
admin@johnstoncollection.org
www.johnstoncollection.org