Snapcat

Snapcat is a collaboration between Renae Coles and Anna Dunnill. We make art: drawings, performance, sculpture, film and fancy articles.

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We used this blog to document our projects and studio experiments from early-2014 to mid-2015 but we’re not using it so much now! To follow our projects you can:

Check out our new website Like our Facebook page Join our mailing list Follow Renae on Instagram: @renaesupermarche Follow Anna on Instagram: @okayampersand

Thanks friends!

Love, Renae & Anna

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Tiny Parade #5: The Keep Fighting Jubilee!

A procession for bravery and resistance in public space. Wearing giant headpieces and playing music, we led the final parade - adorned with paper hats, waving flags and throwing confetti - through the CBD. Get it together, KEEP FIGHTING!

Photos: Matthew Giles.

http://tinyparades.tumblr.com/

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Tiny Parade #4: The Earthworm Parade

They're overlooked, downtrodden (literally), used as bait and frequently squealed at. So we became a hula-hooping cheer squad to raise awareness for our earthworm friends, bringing attention to their ceaseless subterranean toil.

“We're pink! We're proud! We're gonna shout out loud! We’re in the soil, we can’t be beat Earthworms underneath your feet! GOOOOOO EARTHWORMS!”

Photos by Ben Mitchell.

http://tinyparades.tumblr.com/

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Parade #3 ‘Technostalgia’!  This parade commemorated the glory of technologies recently superseded and those long obsolete. The mini-disc player, the Sony Betamax, the Nokia 3310, the dot-matrix printer: these and so many others have risen, fallen, been all but forgotten. Bring your Atari consoles, clockwork toys and cassette tapes, and join us as we celebrate these abandoned joys! We made this soundtrack featuring many of the aforementioned devices, it’s pretty catchy if we do say so!: https://soundcloud.com/snapcatlyf/technostalgia/

This was played on a portable PA lugged by the incredible Danni McGrath! 

Photos by Matthew Giles. https://soundcloud.com/snapcatlyf/technostalgia/

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Tiny Parade #2: Go Ahead, Rain on our Parade

This parade coincided with a massive storm so we decided to work with it. We made water proof costumes and yelled this chant in the pouring rain and hustling wind: “Listen to us We parade for all We are tough We are working hard Things would be different if we were in charge We care a lot We won't be stopped” Photos by Michael Maclean.

http://tinyparades.tumblr.com/

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Some more photos from our first Tiny Parade ‘Don’t Leave’! This parade was a mournful protest against people leaving Perth and featured a marching drum beat and the theme song of Ship to Shore sung slowly (and slightly creepily) into a megaphone.  Big thanks to: Matthew Giles, Carla Adams, Finn O'Branagain, Alisa Blakeney and Abby the Dog for being involved!  Photos by Michael Maclean. 

http://tinyparades.tumblr.com/

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The first of our Tiny Parades, “Don’t Leave”, is happening tomorrow May 2nd at 12pm. Details at tinyparades.tumblr.com.

Photos: Michael Maclean

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TINY PARADES

We are excited to announce our latest project: TINY PARADES. Check out the Tiny Parades Tumblr for all of the dates + times, plus find out how you can submit your parade for consideration! ‪

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Day Two of Snapcat @ the Love Hotel:

We painted our faces again, made sculptures on wheels, finished our costumes and enacted a Tiny Parade around the block. We drummed and sang wordlessly, dragging the sculptures through the evening streets.

We also found a secret hole in the floor and made it into a Glitter Cave.

We feel that this project was a great success.

http://www.freerange.org.au/exhibitions/love-hotel/

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Day One of Snapcat @ the Love Hotel:

We wanted to experiment with the idea of creating a tiny parade. The key elements we wanted to play with were: DIY/handmade (costumes, instruments/props/floats); music (drumming/singing); and colour/spectacle. We painted each others faces simultaneously without knowing what the other was doing and then made hats. Renae practised drumming and Anna made some instruments. We improvised some songs and then made costumes for each other. Day Two will see us create a Tiny Parade: a parade of two people.  http://www.freerange.org.au/exhibitions/love-hotel/

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We're doing this project right now!  Over 10 days artists will work in pairs (or trios) in an art game of response and collaboration. Each pair occupies the space for 48 hours, responding to the previous artists’ work and set of instructions left behind. They re-configure, amalgamate or expand on what they find in the space. Love Hotel becomes an accumulative conversation, reflecting the playful process of sharing and exchange. LOVE HOTEL Free Range Gallery Closing party 6 December, 6.30 - 8.30pm View work in progress (through the window) 25 Nov - 6 Dec  Facebook Event

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The End of Things (boat, fire, flag, drum), 2014. Participatory performance.

Photographs: Alexander Coles.

PARTICIPANTS:

Hannah Coakley, Jane Coakley, Claire Coleman, Alexander Coles, Steven Finch, Michael Ford, Matthew Giles, Henry Greville, Bevan Honey, Danni McGrath, Melissa McGrath, Michael Maclean, Alexa Magladry, Justin Manzano, Xanthea O'Connor, Andrew Sunley Smith, Ashleigh Whyte, Campbell Whyte, Nazario Whyte.

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Thank you so much to everyone who helped us and participated in this work! Despite, or perhaps because of, a gloomy day and pouring rain, it all went better than we could have hoped. You can see the outcome of this work as a five-channel video installation in 'Horizon', opening Friday 21st Nov at Fremantle Arts Centre!

=^.^=

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Pulling a bunch of late nights in the studio before the performance.

(Note: Renae took nearly all these photos, which is why it looks like Anna is the only one working. In fact, Anna just never remembers to take photos. She can verify however that Renae worked very very hard. Sorry Renae.)

We make our costumes: spray-painted life jackets with drinking straws glued to them. We design and paint flags. Renae tests her GoPro headpiece, looks like a total babe. She colours in Anna's tattoo with textas. (This is ostensibly unrelated to the actual work but clearly looks like a piece of Snapcat art, so I included it here.)

At some point on the last evening we are delirious from exhaustion (and possibly spray-paint fumes) and are falling on the floor giggling hysterically clutching our stomachs, so in an effort to calm down we call our friend Matt and try to explain why we are laughing. Matt says, blankly, "Huh, well, I'm sure it would be funny if I was there," and we say "NO NO MATT IT IS NOT ACTUALLY FUNNY THAT IS THE WHOLE PROBLEM" and then after a bit we manage to stop laughing and wipe our tears away and continue with the work.

We drill through the painted coracle seats and attach rope, so we can carry them in the traditional style. The view from behind makes us crack up again. We are giant tortoises.

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This photo of Renae paddling our coracle into the sunset was in the West Australian!

Renae's talented and generous brother Alex Coles took the photo & submitted it to Propel Youth Arts WA's 'Mosaic' project. YAY ALEX!

- The West Australian, 20 October 2014

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Our FAC studio! <3

We love this space so much.

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We press on with the second coracle, helped out by our good friend Matt (with beard) and Renae's brother Alex (with paddles, beautifully made by him to our specifications). THANKS MATT AND ALEX!! Additional assistance from Selley's Liquid Nails, instrumental to holding our boats together.

In between construction, we do some tests with orange powder pigment and nut out our performance score. Is there anything better than textas and butchers' paper for some hardcore planning? No. There is not.

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We tested our first coracle! The launch took place in early evening, on the river in East Fremantle, on a tiny quiet beach at the bottom of a steep staircase. Our coracle floated beautifully, the water was still, and we paddled about with the aid of a spare length of pine, since we didn't have an actual paddle yet. It was VERY SUCCESSFUL. Our friend Raven from the FAC cafe said (and you have to imagine this in an enthusiastic Kiwi accent): "Buoyant as!"

Photos: Alex Coles

(except the one with Alex in, and the one of Anna pulling the boat to shore, which were both taken by Renae)