Colonial (Still) Life: Robyn Stacey and Sydney Living Museums’ houses
Join me, Jane Raffan, for a program exploring Sydney’s colonial life and the hidden messages in beautiful Still Life photographs and tableaus by Robyn Stacey featuring objects from Sydney Living Museums’ properties Elizabeth Bay House, Vaucluse House, and Rouse Hill House & Farm.
My interviews are with curator Dr Scott Hill (Sydney Living Museum’s property portfolio), about the book ‘House’, which was the result of a four-year collaboration between photographer Robyn Stacey and curators.
The still life genre presents a new way of looking at and interpreting the houses’ unique collections and, by extension, the social history of 19th century colonial Sydney. You’ll be hearing about Sydney’s lost gardens and our changing rural landscapes, colonial practices such as the Grand Tour, and other important pursuits, such as ‘the business of eating and drinking’ and the role of women in the scientific arts.
The photographs also give us clues about the families themselves: the Wentworths, the Macleays and the Rouses, all of whom came from vastly different backgrounds and were major contributors to Sydney’s success as a colony.
The program’s music will be a mix of instrumental soundscapes and jazz taking cues from the imagery in the photographs and the stories about the families.
I look forward to your company.
Jane