In early 2018, on a hot, humid summer’s day, when even the birds were resting in the shade, a group of writers gathered beneath the ceiling fans of a university seminar room to devise a project that engaged with the idea of living in a precarious world. As we all lived in the Illawarra region, on the south coast of New South Wales, we decided to respond to artworks held in the Wollongong Art Gallery collection.

A few weeks later, the gallery’s professional officers Vivian Vidulich and Louise Brand led us through the bowels of the gallery. They pulled out wire racks full of paintings and lifted dust covers from sculptures. And we writers sat with the artworks, taking notes, talking, photographing.