Essence of Containment is Vicki McConville’s current PhD studio based research project. The project is being conducted at Monash University, Melbourne, Australia and at international residency complexes in Italy, India, Turkey and China.

The project Investigates travel and trade’s impact on images and iconography and involves creative production in video, sound, print media and diorama constructions.

Between 2011 and 2014 Vicki is an Artist in Resident in Venice, Italy, Istanbul and Beijing, all major sites on historical and contemporary ‘trade routes’. The residencies involve collection of visual, sound and text based research materials followed by creative production, international collaborations and presentations.

The research involves exploring how travel and trade are immersive methodologies that lead to the transformation of images and iconographies. In essence, how ‘the container’ changed the world.

The work, still in progress, has been shown at Monash University, Melbourne, Scuola Internazionale di Grafica, Venice, Sanskriti Foundation Delhi, and at the C.e.C, Bhimtal, India.