In conversation • Wendy Cowan

Paste-up conversations

In 2018, several paste-ups appeared along Todd Mall just as a delegation of educational experts arrived in central Australia for “high-stakes departmental talks on governmental policy priorities so as to improve education outcomes.”

In two thought-provoking paste-ups, delia, in conversation with her interlocutors—Ursula K. Le Guin, Deborah Bird Rose, and the Dalai Lama—share their concerns about what delia describes as a “cruel outdated systemic approach to change.”

These paste-ups serve as a visual and public record of their dialogues, capturing insights on the ingrained, repetitive nature of ‘business-as-usual’ systemic improvement methods.

Most of these un/authorised paste-ups were erased, often within a couple of hours. However, one paste-up remained visible until it naturally faded, and in another instance, while the text was eventually removed, an image of ipelyakwe-migratory teal duck endured for several months.

cares and concerns of delia,

for bodies and spirits not to be broken

delia, 2023

delia with serpent, Seraphina Newberry, 2023

delia’s work is political, personal, unexplainable. It is a reminder that to stay alive in the midst of trouble is, in itself, a considerable achievement.

Question to delia

What can the intellect do in the face of grief, in the liveliness of death, in a valley of tears, when what is presented as real is fakery, a place where no’thing’ thrives?

delia’s response

In sinking things, thinking sings.

In 2003, I caught Wendy off guard as she walked across a church lawn between London tube lines. It was a hot summer, the church lawn was a welcoming splash of green. She halted, puzzled at a ‘keep off the grass’ sign to see me defiantly snoozing ghosts and words that made no sense. We continue to collaborate in tricky ‘keep off’ times and spaces.