A Footscray photographer is capturing slices of local life to share across the globe.
Ashlee Laing is setting up his ArtsBox shipping container outside Footscray library as a photographic studio for the first phase of his Free Trade Zone project.
People are being invited to visit Laing during his residency and have their portraits taken free of charge.
At the end of the project, a collage of the portraits will be installed on 56 shipping containers, which will be loaded on to a cargo ship destined for overseas ports.
Laing said the project was an exploration of global movement, whether via the trade of goods or migration of people.
“Here in Footscray we have such a mix of communities,” he said. “I was really interested in people who come from elsewhere.”
Laing says he will also offer the portraits to people as a way of marking their new life in Australia.
He contrasts the eagerness of governments to open markets to free trade while maintaining tight controls on the movement of people.
“There is no free trade of people. We can’t just go anywhere, so I’m playing with that,” he said.
Free Trade Zone is one of a number of events being held from today until October 4 as part of Fringe Out West.
Details: www.maribyrnong.vic.gov.au
