Hills Hoist by Aldona Kmieć, Melbourne City Library Gallery
Hills Hoist is a deeply personal photographic installation project exploring love — for family, the land and a disappearing way of life.
Artist statement
The project began with a single image: an old suburban backyard clothesline I encountered after migrating to Australia in 2009. Rusty, noisy and rotating in the wind, this oddly domestic device evoked memories of my rural childhood in Poland and symbolised the emotional tension between past and present. This work revisits memories and documents one of the final harvests on my family dairy farm in Poland during the summer of 2025.
Through subdued colours and alternative processes such as cyanotype and analogue photography, I document my family’s daily life under increasing economic and existential pressure. A reflection on belonging and the emotional weight of migration, this body of work is a quiet act of determination — to preserve identity, memory, and tradition across distance and time.
*Born in Poland and now based in Melbourne, Aldona relocated to Australia in 2009 and later established her studio in Ballarat. Her practice spans photography and installation, blending conceptual and documentary approaches to examine belonging and memory.
Exhibition Dates:
12 November – 7 December 2025
Melbourne City Library Gallery
Level 1, 253 Flinders Lane, Melbourne
Opening Night and Artist Talk:
Thursday 13 November 5:30 – 7:00pm All welcome
*Please RSVP via artist website
This exhibition is supported by City of Melbourne Arts Grant 2025 and Lifestyle Clotheslines
Accessibility:
Open daily, fully accessible
Email librarygallery@melbourne.vic.gov.au for more details about accessibility
