ABOVE: Cynthia Schwertsik, My Name, 2022, acrylic paint, ephemeral mural installation at Murray Bridge Regional Gallery, 232 x 681cm. Commissioned by Country Arts SA and presented with support from Murray Bridge Regional Gallery. Photo by David Pretorius. LEFT: Artist Cynthia Schwertsik in front of her mural My Name (in-progress detail), at Murray Bridge Regional Gallery, 2022. Photo by Michelle Dohnt.

My Name is an iterative project that responds to and reflects the presence and representation of women across public spaces.

Adelaide Hills-based artist Cynthia Schwertsik is interested in highlighting where women sit in the forming and sustaining of communities. Whilst their contributions are vast, the visibility of women within the public realm is often concealed, noting that cities and towns world-over are predominately named by and after celebrated men.

Commonly, women are represented by their first names in the public realm, such as on shopfronts and as business names, as a way of ‘softening’ spaces. Schwertsik draws attention to this practice to extrapolate the stories of those names (real and imagined) and speculate about the lives of the women they belonged to. Alongside these speculative narratives, she connects with community members to uncover real stories of prominent and special women, both current and historical.

This regional South Australian outcome will see presentations at Port Pirie (May–June 2022) and Murray Bridge Regional Gallery, (August–September 2022), and draw upon storytelling, photography, video work and mural-making to tell a fuller story about the presence of women in each of these towns.

At the centre of each presentation is a site-specific mural painted directly onto the gallery walls. The resulting artwork comprises many women’s names written in classic signage fonts, which are layered, abstracted and merged into one bright design, which illuminates and celebrates the vibrant contributions of women in each location.

My Name asks us to reflect on our first name and how it has shaped us, as well as to consider our collective storytelling, how we capture history and who it’s told by.

Live mural painting Wed 3 to Sun 7 August.

Cynthia Schwertsik 2022. Photo: David Laslett.

Cynthia Schwertsik’s art practice is diverse, including visual art and contemporary performance, with a focus on activating public space. She has generated an array of projects and collaborations across drawing, public art and moving image. Through her work, Cynthia draws attention to the significance of the everyday as she treats the absurdity of our complex contemporary life with humour.

Cynthia has exhibited and performed throughout Europe, US, South Africa and Australia, been a recipient of grants both from Austrian and Australian government bodies as well as frequently undertaken residencies. She holds a Bachelor of Visual Arts, a Dance Diploma and a Diploma of Textile Design.

More information: www.countryarts.org.au/events/cynthia-schwertsik-my-name/

My Name is developed and presented in Murray Bridge by Country Arts SA in partnership with Murray Bridge Regional Gallery.