Community Connections
Tiny worlds, big dreams
Canberra-based artist Tom Buckland is known for distilling massive dreams into small spaces … and his latest piece commissioned by the University of Canberra is a celebration of stories and possibilities, a headful of dreams and the skills to translate them into reality.
Tom creates tiny worlds, dioramas that suck the audience in … then springboard them up and out, spinning stories of their own.
And don’t be surprised if you find the artist himself eavesdropping on some of those tales.
“I love listening to the stories the audience makes up for my work,” Tom said. “It’s like their own personal narratives collide with my work, my imagination.”
“There’s one particular installation I had for the Work, Lovelife, Miscellaneous exhibition on the ANCA Art Bus – a collection of quite surreal tools hanging on a wall – and everyone who saw it seemed to come up with some story or theory about what they’re used for.”
Each of his works imbues the recognisable and real-world with a rich, quirky vein of fantasy – for Art, Not Apart’s Constellation IV, an iconic Easter Island monolith gazes dispassionately at a miniscule, glowing computer screen, and brittle-looking shopping trolleys sit on the scarlet surface of a terraformed Mars.
They also have an intrinsic focus on making. “I think making as an act is very important, it gives you a strong connection to the world,” he said.
Furthering this connection is the palette of materials he picks from – this lifelong collector builds most of his installations and sculptures from found objects.
“Apart from the fact that I really like reusing and recycling things, every found object has a few little stories of its own,” Tom said.
His installations first register as large blank walls, their surfaces scattered with lenses.
Closer, closer, an eye to each portal – just like that, you’re sucked into one of the myriad worlds from Tom’s imagination, both voyeur and participant.
“It’s an intimate connection, you shrink down and become part of the scene rather than just a passive traveller,” he said.
Tom’s installation for UC is a celebration of the University’s integral role in Canberra, its roots dug deep into the soil of the nation’s capital.
Created with found materials from Canberra itself, each portal is a love letter and inside joke at once.
The large, eye-catching blue box of portals features 12 little lenses on the front, inviting viewers in.
“I like to find the fantastical in the everyday,” Tom said. “There are all sorts of stories that hide in the mundane. Beneath every storm drain is an underground city, every abandoned shopfront has a story, every tree hollow holds a hidden world.”
So experience Canberra’s famous bus shelters, mirrored into an infinite plane; join a miniscule music festival; enjoy that fond jolt of recognition, when you gaze at the Telstra tower rise out of a sea of trees.
“My dioramas all hide stories within their stories, so definitely expect a lot of Easter eggs in each scene,” he said.
Whimsy abounds, with a giant Bogong moth, culturally significant to Aboriginal Australian communities, perched on the spire of Parliament House, sheltering the whirring heart of Australia’s political machinery.
“The audience finds ground in those elements of reality, but the fantasy aspects make the imagination take flight to new places,” he said.
Tom’s installation was also inspired by UC’s spirit of adventure, innovation and possibilities.
“These are also portals of different possibilities, the kind that are open to UC grads,” he said.
Limited only by the imagination. Which is to say: not at all.
And once you’ve made your way into each of Tom’s 12 odes to Canberra, head around the back of the installation, to see the wizard behind the curtain – the inner workings of the diorama.
The reality that makes the magic possible.
Born in Central Western NSW, Tom has lived in Canberra since 2012, and loves being part of the tight-knit, supportive community of artists here. He studied visuals at TAFE and graduated from the Australian National University School of Art with honours in 2015.
Tom has exhibited in Perth, Tasmania, Sydney and Melbourne and coordinated the popular Home for Unloved Animals project as part of Art, Not Apart 2017.
“I think art is an incredibly important method of communication, and a way to engage with the world,” Tom says. “It's especially important for kids, as it’s a gateway to becoming makers and creators, to encourage self-expression, communication and engagement with the wider world.”
The Tom Buckland x UC installation will be a gypsy, moving throughout the year. Look out for it at Enlighten, Canberra Day at Commonwealth Park, the Canberra Centre, Canberra International Airport, Floriade … and of course, the University of Canberra.
Words by Suzanne Lazaroo