unsettling Queenstown, Australia Pavilion, 18th Venice Biennale of Architecture 2023

unsettling Queenstown participates in the questioning and reimagining of Australia's colonial inheritance a the end of the second Elizabethan era. This is done through the lens of a place: Queenstown. A place both specific and typical, there are lots of Queenstowns all over the world, reflecting the global reach of British colonialism and the impact of its pattern of relations to land, nature and people.

Taking Queenstown as both a lens and metaphor, the exhibition condenses around concrete sites, histories and communities to explore decolonisation in architecture. Material from two real Queenstowns are drawn upon to construct the exhibition's fictional version: a copper mining town in Lutruwita/Tasmania; and Queenstown in Kaurna Yarta/ Adelaide, South Australia.

The elements in the exhibition form a loose assemblage, yeilding affects, meanings, and resonances through their unfolding interaction with each other and with visitors. The exhibition is both an 'opera aperta' and an opening to a conversation, one that has been there for generations, but is only just beginning.

Decolonising architecture and design.
Justice and Sustainability in design and public space.