“Tana Swiwi”
Wanda Gillespie
19 Feb → 13 Mar 2010
Located deep in the Java Sea, the long lost island of Tana Swiwi has caused great curiosity over the past few centuries. In the Museum of Lost Worlds’ latest uncovering, this mystical realm is visited through reconstructed artifacts and ritual.
An ornate, twisted, dragon-like periscope and a lawnmower-shaped carriage are evidence of the island’s existence. A re-enactment of a traditional trance-inducing Tana Swiwi ceremony draws viewers in through its hypnotic effect.
Rather than taking an orthodox museum approach, the Museum of Lost Worlds displays these items in a more theatrical fashion in an attempt to engage viewers to dream about the gaps in what is already a highly conjectured piece of history.
Wanda Gillespie is a Naarm/Melbourne based artist interested in the malleable nature of history, materialising the immaterial, and narrative.