The Long Paddock

New Landscapes
from Old Ways

2015 — 2017

The Long Paddock Mark

A Travelling Stock Route

The Long Paddock was a research and art project, curated by Joni Taylor at the New Landscapes Institute. Heath had worked with Joni for a number of years, taking care of her branding and online presence, and was invited to design the identity and communication materials for The Long Paddock exhibition.

The project is best described by Joni herself — “The Long Paddock is the colloquial name given to the vast network of Travelling Stock Routes that cross throughout Australia. These shared, regional tracks cover more than 3.2 million hectres nationally and have traditionally been reserved for droving cattle and sheep. They appear in Australian bush poetry and literature and are the Australian version of the “Commons”. Many are based on indigenous pathways and as they have never been farmed, provide refuge for endangered ecosystems and act as wildlife corridors. Their status as public land is currently under negotiation, making this a timely and important project”.

Vintage Stock Route Map

The Long Paddock Research Lab

The Wired Lab, Field Recordings ● Photo: James Farley

The initial research and creative development phase of the project took place in 2015, and saw a number of artists, architects, and designers conducting site-specific interventions along TSRs. These included workshops with partners such as Indigenous communities (Gudamundhuray), Environmental groups (National Parks NSW, Eastern Ranges) and Cultural Institutions (National Museum & Library, Bundanon Trust). From here, prototypes and various materials were created and gathered that would later be used in the exhibition.

Heath was engaged at this early stage, in order to fully understand the scope and possibilities of the project. While working closely with Joni on the development of the project, he comissioned and published a series of articles on TSRs as well as the artists involved in The Long Paddock for his research website The Territories.

Exhibition Logo

Research Icons

Exhibition Map with Works Icons

Room Sheet

Exhibition & Catalogue Typography

Catalogue Cover

Catalogue Sample Spread

Credits + Contents

Catalogue Sample Spread

Catalogue Sample Spread

Catalogue Back

Catalogue Shared on Social Media

In addition to the masterbrand, Heath created a suite of supporting materials, including icons that represented the various research themes of the project, as well as an additional suite of icons that represented the different artworks included in the final exhibition. These were used in various ways, including as a legened for the exhibition room sheet map.

The final piece of work Heath created for the project was the catalogue. Various printing methods and materials were used to achieve this look, including recycled board, screenprinting, and neon paper stocks. The catalogue featured an introductory essay by Joini Taylor and key images of the work included in the exhibition.

The Long Paddock Exhibition
Signage

The Long Paddock Exhibition

Future Method Studio, Future Acts ● Photo: Jacob Raupach

Hayden Fowler, Australia ● Photo: Jacob Raupach

The Long Paddock exhibition opened to the public on May 6, 2017 at Wagga Wagga art Gallery.

The final exhibition featured nine new works which explore the past, present and future of our TSRs, from artists such as Zanny Begg, Megan Cope & Bill Buckley, Hayden Fowler, Future Method Studio, Grandeza, Josephine Starrs & Leon Cmielewski and The Wired Lab. Alongside the artworks, the New Landscapes Institute commissioned the architecture collective Grandeza to design a contemporary adaptation of the traditional drover’s plant. This new “Plant” is a mobile object that houses an expanding collection of audio stories, international case studies and research.