Assembly is comprised of a three-screen video and was created in partnership with critically acclaimed Curator Juliana Engberg.
Assembly, described by Engberg as a commentary on democracy and an exploration of nonverbal communication, runs for 25 minutes and was filmed within the Italian and Australian senate chambers.
Non-verbal communication has been a recurring topic within Mesiti’s work. Her IPMIC work, The Calling, investigated whistling languages in three remote communities.
Mesiti says, “Assembly engages with sound, music, performance, choreography and the moving image”.
“I use these forms of expression to explore the musical tropes of polyphony, cacophony, dissonance and harmony which, in the film installation I am creating, can be understood as metaphors for the range of dynamics within a democratic system.”
Assembly was collaborated on by over 40 Australian artists, including musicians', dancers, poets and choreographers.
"Collaboration is an important part of my practice and a central element in the work itself. Assembly draws on a need to come together, to exchange and to learn from each other", says Mesiti.
Engberg has commented that the audience members also become performers as they assemble within the Australian Pavilion.
Assembly has been purchased by the National Gallery of Australia and will tour Australia in 2020.
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