As part of the MAPBM Aerie exhibition at Wentworth Falls School of Arts, Katya Petetskaya will be performing Light and Mirrors.

Presented at the historic Wentworth Falls School of Arts, Light & Mirrors is a site-responsive performance that explores the fragmented and layered histories embedded in the building and the land it occupies.

The well-documented history of the WFSOA’s use begins in 1915. Prior to that, aside from the rare and progressive fact that the land was donated by a woman, Marie Pitt, the deeper story of the site remains elusive. Aboriginal presence in the Blue Mountains dates back at least 22,000 years, yet many locations, including the WFSOA, remain unrecognised in the historical record.

Light & Mirrors explores these layered and partial histories, creating space for reflection, both literal and metaphorical, on how we engage with historical complexity. Using mirrors of varied shapes and sizes, the performer reflects fragments of the building, its architectural features, the natural surroundings, herself and the audience. These shifting reflections destabilise fixed images of the WFSOA and its landscape, offering new and unexpected ways of seeing.

Drawing on the phrase “smoke and mirrors,” often associated with theatrical illusion, Light & Mirrors reclaims the mirror not as a tool of deception, but as a medium of clarity - inviting reflection, multiplicity and transformation. Mirrors become portals, multiplying perspectives and refracting time. Light becomes a medium of disruption and revelation. Viewers witness themselves and others reflected within the context of the site: watching and being watched, reflecting and being reflected. In this layered gaze, the work invites us to consider our relationship to historical representation, presence and perception.

This session is free but please RSVP by Friday 5 September 2025.

Katya Petetskaya will also be performing Light & Mirrors at 3:00pm on Saturday 6 September immediately after the exhibition curator/artist talk. For more details please go to https://events.humanitix.com/aerie-exhibition-curator-artist-talk

Aerie Exhibition Details

Exhibition hours: Friday 29 August to Sunday 14 September 2025, open Friday to Sunday 10am to 4pm

Wentworth Falls School of Arts, 217-219 Great Western Hwy, Wentworth Falls NSW 2782

For more information go to: https://www.modernartprojects.org/project/aerie-exhibition-celebrates-school-of-arts-and-mapbm

Supported by Blue Mountains City Council and
the Blue Mountains City of the Arts Trust