Mark Parfitt’s practice connects to themes of site-specificity, installation, and socially engaged practice. Drawing on contemporary sculpture theory informed by the practical conditions of artistic production, Mark uses the house as a site to produce and exhibit new sculptural artworks. To date Mark has produced a range of house-based events that utilises domestic architecture and shifts the audience from passive spectators to co-producers of artworks. Their participation and active involvement represent the disruptive and playful way a community can change their immediate environment when operating in everyday life. Recent work tests the house as a site for hosting art events while exploring the display and transmission of participatory artworks as means of providing an alternative space to the conventional art gallery. Since Hatched, Mark has exhibited in group and solo exhibitions, featured in several institutional and private collections, and has attracted the funding of numerous grants, residencies, and prizes. Mark is the major coordinator for Fine Art at Curtin University and Chair for the City of South Perth Arts Advisory Committee.
What does Hatched mean to you?’
The most important thing I remember is seeing the breadth and diversity of artworks from all other Hatched participants from all the art schools around Australia. When I was installing my work, I met so many other artists from interstate who were confident about their emerging practice as well as being incredibly friendly and open. I was also made to feel like a real working artist with the PICA staff treating me in a collegial and professional manner. Not one space in PICA was empty, there was so much work, it was amazing! I was in total awe and it was an incredibly humbling experience to be part of it. Looking back, Hatched demonstrates what it is to be a professional early on in an artist’s emerging career. Whether exhibiting or viewing the show, Hatched reveals that a new generation of artists’ attitudes and values matters. It is still as significant as it was back then, revealing to the public that our future is in the hands of all emerging artists, making ideas, creativity and inclusion visible for all to see.
