Concentric: working title

RESEARCH BACKGROUND Nightshifters was a commissioned site-specific project, engaging eight Australian and Australian-based artists to work within the post- industrial architectures of the CarriageWorks complex. Redfern developed a video work that intervenes in a precise and performative way with the existing architectures and quotidian objects. It consists of three animated narratives of labour that extended both factually and metaphorically from the Eveleigh Rail Yards. Redfern researched Australia's convict past to develop a narrative of land use, social genealogies and identity that was informed by the work of artists such as Mark Dian and Steve McQueen and writers like Miwon Kwon. RESEARCH CONTRIBUTION Redfern explored a little-known form of punishment in convict Australia, where no utility was derived from prisoners arduously walking the wheel. The central screen of his installation showed the drive shaft illuminated from underneath by red fire which cast shadows across the space. This work sought to contemplate the geographic site of the Eveleigh Carriage Works both as Eora Aboriginal land and one of the first major urban employers of Indigenous labour in Australia. In the final screen, archive cards appear to flutter from the gantry, drawing reference to the general strike of 1917 that sprang from worker opposition within the Eveleigh Carriage Works to a 'time and motion' efficiency study, utilising cards to. RESEARCH SIGNIFICANCE Redfern's performative video work created a unique reading of these interwoven narratives opened up new experiential possibilities and perceptions of time and space in an innovative venue. The CarriageWorks is the largest and most significant contemporary multi-arts centre of its kind in Australia and engages artists and audiences with contemporary ideas and issues. This ambitious project provided an opportunity to present video artworks only at night and was a response to the labyrinthine nature of site.