Daniel Peltz: Artist residency in Tom Price, a company town
“Chinese Opera is embedded in the landscape of China, just as iron ore is embedded in the Australian landscape,” remarks Providence-based artist Daniel Peltz, explaining how he came to develop the proposal to re-enact the displacement of minerals occurring in mining super-town Tom Price by producing a traditional Chinese opera. As part of the WA-based SPACED: Future Recall residency program, Peltz will spend eight weeks in Tom Price over one year, working with community groups and liaising with the big fish in that small pond, Rio Tinto Iron Ore. His residency has already begun to lay bare the mechanics of living in a company town, the huge scale of iron ore production, and the astonishing movement of infrastructure it requires.