BECOMING

In 2017 Rhiannon Slatter began studying the process of a building coming to life, exploring its underlying structure, architectural language and eventual purpose, its reason for being. The project she chose to follow Beaumaris Secondary College in Bayside Melbourne, a new school designed by architects ClarkeHopkinsClarke that revitalises a rundown precinct and fills a void of public education at this level in its local area. Slatter photographed the school’s construction throughout 2017 up to its occupation by students and staff in 2018 and 2019. The technique of digitally layering these collected images considers parallels between the buildings’ assembly and the learning that now takes place there, seeing education as also occurring in layers; a process of building knowledge in the development of a deep understanding of the world and our place in it.

Becoming was initially presented in the Bob Whiteway Resource Centre at Beaumaris Secondary College where it interacted with the architecture it responded to.

Rhiannon Slatter has been the inaugural participant in the Artist in Schools Program initiated by Bayside City Council, which took place during term 3 of 2019 at Beaumaris Secondary College.

Becoming was exhibited at Bayside Gallery in late 2019 alongside other key works from recent series.

The artist would like to acknowledge the support of ClarkeHopkinsClarke Architects, Bayside City Council and Beaumaris Secondary College with this project