Object of the Game presents the 2018 Fremantle Arts Centre Print Award-winning artist’s book Towla by Deanna Hitti, a Melbourne based artist with Lebanese heritage.

Towla is a multipage two-colour book printed by the artist that sets out the rules of Backgammon phonetically in both Arabic and Latin alphabet. The Arabic text spell the instructions in Latin and the Latin spell the instructions in Arabic.

This instruction manual presents a dialogue about cross-cultural disconnection and translation, bound together with family history. Deanna suggests that differences between generations and peoples of different backgrounds and beliefs can be overcome by sitting down and talking to each other. The work also articulates the joys and challenges of growing up as a first generation Australian.

Deanna co-wrote the translations with her late father Antonios El Hitti and her close friend Katarina Achkar.

Object of the Game includes new work by Deanna, an interpretive animated video projection on how to play the game, narrated by the artist, and a public program involving Backgammon tuition and demonstrations.

The City of Fremantle Art Collection

The City of Fremantle Art Collection is grounded in the story of Fremantle, where artists have always chosen to work and live. It is the largest municipal collection in WA. Over five decades the collection has grown to over 1,500 pieces including paintings, sculpture, prints, photographs and WA ceramics. The majority of the artworks both reflect and reveal Fremantle life – its people, relationships, work, culture, politics, social rituals, conflict and leisure time.

You can view a selection of works from the City of Fremantle Art Collection via the Collections WA portal. This new resource connects the public with stories of WA’s unique environment, history, culture, and identity via the cultural, creative and natural material held in collections all over the state.

The City was one of ten organisations involved with the initial pilot and launch of Collections WA. More than 350 works from the City of Fremantle Art Collection are currently available to view online. More works will be added in the coming months.