tiffaney bishop & the SCUM PUPS have been making art together for over a year now and this is their second exhibition. For those encountering the project for the first time, it began in late 2008, when Burrinja, the Dandenong Ranges Community cultural Centre, offered a group of local young people the opportunity to take part in a one-off art project that supported them in expressing their opinions and experiences about daily life in their community.

Burrinja invited Tiffaney Bishop, a local photographic artist, to facilitate the project, which resulted in a photographic exhibition called We’re afraid of the daylight. The exhibition attracted widespread praise and community support, inspiring the group to devise an ongoing interactive art program that embraces young people and adults and makes vital social, cultural and community connections between the two.

The initial project set out to challenge local perceptions about the level of safety within the community and was deliberately confrontational, without being counter-productive. Positive community engagement between young people, senior police, railway officials, local government, local traders and residents resulted. The project galvanized locals reignited community spirit and lead to a groundswell of interest in supporting further activities of this kind.

Over the past few months Zoe, Trentt, Jacque, Anna, Charlotte and max have realised how important an ongoing artistic practice has become. The group now see’s itself as a permanent art collective of young developing artists working collaboratively with adults. The collective offers these young people the opportunity to develop a studio-based, contemporary art practice of their own.

In spite of its largely youth based membership, the collective has established itself as a group of accomplished artists, attracting local, national and even international interest with an exciting cross cultural engagement developing with a similar art collective based in The Bronx, New York.
The work the collective makes changes with each project. The initial project was a response to physical violence and intimidation directly experienced by several members of the group. Four of the original five members have been physically injured and/or psychologically intimidated whilst going about their daily lives in this community.

During the first exhibition, a large number of young people came forth to endorse the stories these young people were telling and congratulated them on speaking out. Whilst the SCUM PUPS are less concerned about this type of violence since completing the first project, believing they are now more confident, empowered and supported, they are still concerned about the way they are judged and valued in the community. The current project is more about young people’s desire to be respected, better understood and supported within the broader community.

The SCUM PUPS accept that anti-social behaviours exists within their community, but they want the community to know that there are reasons why. On closer inspection, young people face some serious pressures in this community.

Boredom, lack of support, learning difficulties, feelings of isolation and loneliness, depression and family troubles are part of everyday life for many local young people. Some of these young people lead complex lives, lives that are impacted by experiences and concerns that other teenagers don’t have to deal with. To gloss over these concerns often means young people have trouble moving on and developing in positive ways.

The long-standing reputation for youth violence and anti-social behavior in Upwey has lead to young locals being referred to as Upwey Scum. Upwey Scum is a negative tag that has created a serious identity crisis for many young people in this community and has lead to the stigmatization of all young people of Upwey. The group has even named themselves the SCUM PUPS in an attempt to reverse this stigma, to reclaim a sense of dignity and respect by using the word SCUM in a positive, activist and empowering way.

Working creatively in a group like this, experiencing adult support and praise and the feeling that they are contributing to solutions is changing these young people’s lives. During the past twelve months the SCUM PUPS have been involved in weekly workshops held ON the Upwey train station and in doing so they have connected in more meaningful ways with their peers and adults within the community. They have a sense that their opinions and concerns matter, that they are important.

The Exhibition, Station Rates & other Scum Bags, is a collaborative effort. Adults and young people work and produce work collectively. The works are deliberately unsigned as all the images are of a high standard and don’t necessarily identify the author as adult or youth.

Text is an important part of the group’s methodology and when combined with the images, produces powerful narratives about youth issues and community life. The work is unashamedly provocative, dark and confronting at times, but it is real. The title is also deliberately provocative and meant to be read “tongue-in-cheek”. It is meant to grab your attention and challenge your perception of young people in this community.

There are also some very positive stores to tell. Happier images are woven throughout the exhibition in an attempt to tell the full story. Whilst some of the young people in Upwey do lead complex lives there are happy times. The animation was especially created to present a funnier, happier story, one that runs parallel to the more trying times.

The community should be very proud of what this project is achieving. It is making a valuable contribution to local, national and even international community development and artistic practice.

To keep up with tiffaney bishop & the SCUM PUPS are doing or to find out how you can participate in or support the project, please visit www.scumpups.com

Proudly supported by: Victoria Police & Metro Trains
Proudly sponsored by: Burrinja, Shire of Yarra Ranges, Bendigo Bank, Bell Real Estate, Foodworks

WORKS FROM THE BURRINJA COLLECTION

The Burrinja Collection comprises over 300 works of Aboriginal paintings, Oceanic works from New Ireland and New Britain PNG, drawings and artifacts. Throughout the year works from the Collection will be continually on display, along with various feature exhibitions in Gallery 2.