Fault

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BACKGROUND 'Fault' contributes to sculpture, screen­based art practice and the field of 'new materialism' within creative practice, and relates to texts of influential thinkers, Elizabeth Grosz and Claire Colebrook. CONTRIBUTION 'Fault' is a video installation (developed by the collaborative art group OSW) and builds on their extensive research at Museum Victoria in the Natural Sciences collection. "Fault' is anchored by the material specificity of a 'sea lily' fossil selected from the museum collection, which was formed in a sub­marine landslide during the late Silurian period as the eastern coast of Australia was being deposited. 420 million years later the specimen was excavated from a Brunswick clay pit as brick dwellings sprang up across greater Melbourne. The sea lily specimen is a tiny material remainder registering its processes of formation and connecting with recent anthropogenic activity. 'Fault', informed by these geological, social and material forces of formation, provides a unique insight into the dynamic nature of matter. The complex convergences brought into relation by this work demonstrate innovative ways for activating connections between museum specimens, socio­economic forces and theoretical dialogues centered on the dynamic agency of matter. SIGNIFICANCE Fault was selected by curator Mick Douglas for inclusion in the exhibition 'Performing Mobilities: Traces' at RMIT Gallery, Melbourne. This exhibition formed a key component in the 'Performing Mobilities' symposium, an Australian iteration of Fluid States, a globally distributed performance research project. Performing Mobilities was supported by the Victorian Government through Creative Victoria. OSW's research at Museum Victoria was supported by an Australia Council New Work grant in 2013 (value $19,000).