Anastasia Murney
My work often takes shape in public, pedagogical, and community contexts as open conversations. I draw on Tarot cards and other divinatory systems as embodied methods of storytelling in relation to social and political problems, such as anthropogenic climate change, the structural violence of colonisation, and economic precarity. I create maps that function as interpretive spaces where participants can experiment with new possibilities, unsettling ‘rational’ habits of thought that circumscribe a narrow political imagination.
Kandos Arcana is a participatory tarot card reading that takes place over the duration of the festival and across several locations. A question formulated in collaboration with local people guides the reading. Each chapter of the reading will aim to “answer” the question using the Kandos Arcana, a set of cards developed from workshops with Kandos High School students. The reading will produce a large-scale chalk map of the conversation. Festival attendees are invited to contribute to the reading and to offer their interpretations of the cards and their reflections on the past, present and future of Kandos. Special thanks to Shannon Prosser; Year 7, 8 and 9 Visual Art; Year 11 Visual Design, and Patrick Griffin.
