The artists

"The Artists" is a silent film that documents the shared artist residency undertaken by "The Two Cathies" at Norma Redpath House, University of Melbourne in December 2017. Cathy Staughton and Catherine Bell are artist collaborators and have been each other’s muse since 2009. They explore the lived experience and female identity in their painted and video portraits. This silent film documents the first time "The Artists” have lived together and produced artworks outside the supported studio Arts Project Australia. The silent film genre has been chosen because for a brief time in history, it provided an inclusive experience for the hearing impaired who could fully participate in this popular cultural form as equal members of the audience. The film focuses on communal daily rituals, and how "The Two Cathies" co-exist with Catherine Bell's dog Archie; and interact when they are not making art, using a combination of sign language, lip reading and visual communication. "The Artists" explores how feminist ethics play a role in their participatory practice and illuminates concepts of interdependence, reciprocity, trust, friendship, and embodiment. This film also advocates for feminist ethical and theoretical approaches to collective, participatory, relational, community-engaged and collaborative practices.

This project was supported by Arts Project Australia, Australian Catholic University, Australia Council, Creative Victoria, Norma Redpath House and Studio managed by the VCA for the University of Melbourne. The "Doing Feminism/Sharing the World" residency was part of Women Art and Feminism in Australia since 1970, Professor Anne Marsh's ARC Discovery Project 2016-2018 (DP160104069).

File size over 30 MB.