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Eric Bridgeman
Bravo
Between the months of October and December 2011 I was Artist in Residence at the Gushul Studio in Blairmore, Alberta Canada, a new International Artist in Residence program established by RMIT (Australia) and Lethbridge University (Canada). I spent my 25th birthday on October 24th at the Greenhill hotel with two bartenders. We had Jager shots and I played AC/DCs Back in Black. It wasn’t snowing yet, but it was on its way. I was in the Rocky Mountains in the Crowsnest Pass of Alberta Canada. I was hosted by Lethbridge University, but I was in the mountains. The harshness and isolation of the environment slowly took an effect. This was my first sponsored residency overseas. First time in the northern hemisphere. First time seeing and being in snow. Living and fending for myself. I had no real plans for the trip besides letting the new place and people take hold of me in some creative way. As time was passing my attempts to locate myself within the immediate community became harder. I began to turn on myself, my art making process, and relying on communication through the web to remain optimistic.
I began thinking of the future, and what I would do if/when I left this project. Spending time browsing the web, watching documentaries on extra terrestrials and Big Foot, thinking of my home in Papua New Guinea, and getting to know the theories of Boris Groys, I became content in knowing I was hitting rock bottom, because I knew I would eventually resolve these issues and would soon find myself in the future. Since leaving the project and moving into other projects and ventures, I have gathered and compiled my web video entries and photo documentation of this particular moment.
bio:
Eric Bridgeman is a multi-disciplinary artist based in Australia and Papua New Guinea. Bridgeman’s art practice crosses disciplines of photography, performance, video, and installation. The dominant focus of his work involves the discussion of self-design, performance in social and cultural domains, and representation in popular cultures.
Bridgeman graduated from Photography at the Queensland College of Art in 2009, majoring in Art Practice, which saw the beginnings of his work The Sport and Fair Play of Aussie Rules (2008/09). This work first featured in Brisbane’s Institute of Modern Art’s annual exhibition Fresh Cut, which led to further opportunities from organisations and institutions such as Next Wave Festival (Melbourne), Gallery 4A (Sydney), Australia Council for the Arts, Australian Centre for Photography (Sydney) and the University of Queensland Art Museum (Brisbane).
Since 2008, Bridgeman has been residing and producing work between his bases in Australia and Papua New Guinea. During 2011 and 2012 he has undertaken international residencies in Alberta Canada, Liverpool United Kingdom, and Canberra Australia.
http://ericbridgeman.wordpress.com
