Crowd Theory Port of Melbourne Produced by Footscray Community Arts Centre  in partnership with Port of Melbourne Corporation.

Celebration of the port captured in a crowd

The hour had arrived. At 3.30 pm on Saturday 2 August 2008, participants lined up to sign in at Footscray Community Arts Centre as a sunshower signalled the last of the day's rain. The crowd boarded buses to head to the vacant site in the Port of Melbourne overlooking Swanson Dock West. On arrival they heading to white marquees to fortify themselves with soup before dusk arrived.

After a briefing from the artist, Simon Terrill, on how Crowd Theory Port of Melbourne would unfold, participants walked across the mud of the Old Tank Farm on Mackenzie Road into their chosen positions.

 Sharing the site with shrubs, containers and dry ice scattered through the puddles, around 150 people who live or work near the port, or at the port, shared their experiences with each other. An older woman told of her father arriving in the port in 1874, and locals from Footscray talked of watching the port from across the Maribyrnong River. People asked questions about how the port worked, their fascination with the lights and movement, and how pleased they were to be seeing it first hand.  

Over the next hour a siren sounded ten times, each call followed by 10 or 15 seconds of stillness and silence as a long-exposure photograph was taken, with participants holding different positions each time. The photographer shouted 'Amazing!', 'Fantastic!' after each shot.

By the time the tenth image was captured at 6.30 pm, the gathering had truly become a bonded crowd. People milled around the muddy ground, waiting to board buses and share a glass of wine at the Footscray Community Arts Centre. 

The crowd's connection to the port had been captured.

What next?

The 2.4 x 1.8 metre photograph has been exhibited at the Mission to Seafarers and is currently being exhibited at the Gabriel Gallery, Footscray Community Arts Centre, 45 Moreland Street, Footscray. Visit www.footscrayarts.com.au.

Tell us what you thought of Crowd Theory Port of Melbourne : community@portofmelbourne.com