“Tana Swiwi”
Layla Vardo
19 Feb → 13 Mar 2010

Located deep in the Java Sea, the long lost island of Tana Swiwi has caused great curiosity over the past few centuries. In the Museum of Lost Worlds’ latest uncovering, this mystical realm is visited through reconstructed artifacts and ritual.

An ornate, twisted, dragon-like periscope and a lawnmower-shaped carriage are evidence of the island’s existence. A re-enactment of a traditional trance-inducing Tana Swiwi ceremony will draw viewers in through its hypnotic effect.

Rather than taking an orthodox museum approach, the Museum of Lost Worlds displays these items in a more theatrical fashion in an attempt to engage viewers to dream about the gaps in what is already a highly conjectured piece of history.

Wanda Gillespie is a Melbourne-based conceptual artist interested in the malleable nature of history, materialising the immaterial, and narrative. Wanda has recently completed an MFA at the Victorian College of the Arts and was recipient of the Vulcan Steel sculpture award. This project began on an Asialink residency to Indonesia in 2007 and has been gratefully funded by Arts Victoria and the Anthony Ganim Postgraduate Award.