Jessye Wdowin-McGregor’s research while affiliated with Victorian College for the Deaf and other places

How can conservators support the circulation of artist Tino Sehgal’s constructed situations? This paper will consider a process modelled on the techniques that generate the work itself. The procedure is discussed around the need for conservators to act in alliance with the network of caretakers engaged by the artist as repositories to carry and transmit the work. Informed by research conducted into a recent acquisition of Sehgal’s work This Is So Contemporary (2005) and the caretaker who is contractually obliged to transfer future iterations, we will argue that the proposed model of conservation cannot endure based on the current collection culture and procedures of the museum which is shaped by ob- ject-based approaches to documentation and conservation.

What conservation strategies can be used for Tino Sehgal's 2005 work This Is So Contemporary, and what are their relations to oral traditions? Sehgal's art leaves no material traces, as the artist resists the use of photos and videos acting as a documentary surrogate for his work. This paper will explore how Sehgal's non-written documentation strategies connect to the work of Yumutjin Wunungmurra, a contemporary artist and ceremonial leader from Northeast Arnhem Land, Australia. The connection will be tracked through the role of caretaker and custodian that features in the workflow of both artists. The paper asks whether the performance-based strategies discussed can support the notion of conservation as a social process with multiple stakeholders.