The co-respond conference presentation describes the cross disciplinary and cross institutional collaborative project, an ongoing collaboration between Mark McDean, Lecturer in Visual Art at Monash University Gippsland Centre for Art & Design and Laurene Vaughan, Lecturer [Fashion & Textiles] at RMIT University Melbourne. The co-respond project has been exhibited at P.I.C.A. [W.A.] as part of the Space Between [Curtin University] conference in April 2004 and at Monash University Switchback Gallery Victoria in May 2004.
co-respond explores DW Winnicott’s concept of the transitional object – the space between the self/internal and the other/external – as it relates to the layered perspectives of cross disciplinary practice.
The ongoing project takes the form of a visual conversation between the two artists [both initially trained and continue to work within the visual arts and currently practicing as academics within the fine art and fashion areas] on how they understand and explore the diverse aspects of their current practice. That is a cross disciplinary professional practice that embraces both image/ object making with academic theory and practice through the methodology of narrative [spoken, text and image]. There are many potential layers to the conversation: the nature and complexities of practice, cross disciplinary representations, explorations and inspiration, and the nature of the object/space of transition.