Established suburbs and rural villages are peculiar beasts; a host for the persistence of sacred memories: the Australian Mandala. Building Blocks explores what it is that begins to create nascent place within the rapid construction of ‘packaged’ communities and exposes the problem of how do established communities retain a sense of place within the relentless expansion of ubiquitous, characterless housing developments? Australians have a peculiar obsession with home ownership. Being mindful of this predicament the sculptures also represent the sometimes precarious fluctuations of home loan interest rates, where best to invest and the uncertainty this brings to our everyday lives. “I endeavour to visualise the impact change is bringing to the Australian coastal landscape by creating works that comment upon the effects of urban development – particularly on my local region, that being: the Bellarine Peninsula and the Victorian Surf Coast.” Darren has worked for many years as a lecturer and teacher of Ceramics, Sculpture, Arts and Technology at various academic institutions including the University of Melbourne, Victorian College of the Arts and Deakin University. 8 – 31 October / see details of work here