It’s only a short walk, 2019.
Text on gold paper
21cm x 30cm
We can’t return we can only look behind, 2019.
Bon Marchè Ltd. chair
But I know you’re not so far away, 2019.
Custom Bon Marche Ltd. pattern printed on silk Crepe de Chine, open window, gold brass curtain rod and finials.
Dimensions variable.
Palatial Structure is a site-responsive installation that responds to the former lives of the Bon Marchè Arcade and was developed during a residency at Cool Change Contemporary. The exhibition engages with archival ephemera accessed from the State Library of Western Australia and the City of Perth History Centre. Bon Marchè Arcade is the last remaining building and the tangible trace of the quality fashion and drapery department store the “Perth Bon Marché.” The arcade was a profitable shopping avenue for pedestrians to travel from Barrack Street to the Hay Street store. The eventual closure and demolition of the Bon Marché resulted in traffic ceasing in the arcade and its usual activity coming to a halt.
In this exhibition, Liebetrau reflects on how artist-run initiatives (often operating within impermanent tenancies) provide the opportunity for Perth’s marginal, heritage, and neglected buildings to gain new visibility and context. The works in this exhibition draw attention to the original use of the building, revisiting the past if only for a short moment in time.
Photo: Tim Palman