FELICITY CASTAGNA| Writer, Parramatta Marian Abboud and I are collaborating on an installation called Bodies in Sound / Bodies in Motion. Through stories, poems and performance, we will showcase several emerging and professional Parramatta artists in their own words alongside printed portraits. Audio devices placed in tin cans and hung all over Holroyd Place will broadcast spoken word stories and poems about each of our subjects. In addition, life-sized pictures of each person will be printed on linen and hung all over the parking lot. The images and sounds will be displayed together and participants will move between them. But they won’t be directly linked. Part of the game istothinkaboutwhichstoryfitswithwhichimage. It challenges the way that we can judge people by the images we see of them, but we never really know what their stories are based on how they appear to us. The portraits will flutter with the breeze and will be discreetly backlit, creating an ephemeral bent. They will meet our gaze with a defined stare. There will be movement of the fabric and light on some faces and no light on others. It will be very beautiful. The mix of stories will be as wide and diverse as Parramatta itself. All of the storytellers are from around the Parramatta area and the whole installation captures that sense that there are so many people in this community and so many stories to tell that are hidden and unheard. Some of them are uplifting, some of them are confronting and some are surprising. Marian is such an exciting artist and it is an absolute pleasure to collaborate with her. ShegrewupinGranvilleandalotofherartwork is about telling stories of the communities in the Parramatta area in a visual way, while I have been doing the same in writing. We will create something new and exciting and I am looking at this as the first of many collaborations. It is the first time I will be a part of Parramatta Lanes, but I have seen the festival grow over the years and have been very impressed. I love the idea that people who aren’t usually drawn into art come to the festival and are exposed to experimental music, performance and installation works. Any type of art that draws so many people in is a massive achievement. LANES LIT UP Food, art and music combine to bring the city centre to life at Parramatta Lanes. WRITER James Perkins PHOTOGRAPHY George Gittany, Michal Kriesch, Aidan Bryant Hidden spaces within the Parramatta city create the scene for one of the community’s favourite events – Parramatta Lanes. Spots usually ignored in the day- to-day running of business become the backdrop for stimulating and engaging installations, delicious food and funky music. It’s no wonder the festival, which runs from 10-13 October and has grown from eight to 12 lanes this year, has become so popular. Mercedes-Benz Parramatta spoke to two artists about what they have planned for this year’s festival. MERCEDES-BENZ PARRAMATTA 22 CULTURE