28 August 2023
The Canberra Museum and Gallery’s free Mr Fluffy exhibition shows the devastation that Mr Fluffy insulation has caused to the Canberra community over the last few decades.
The whole heartbreaking, ugly saga had an immense emotional impact on the families who had often lived in these mid-century houses for decades, if not a generation or two. The pile of keys instills a feeling of sadness for the number of individuals who had their family homes erased, and with them, childhood memories.
Alongside the keys are fragments of a mosaic artist Kim Grant had created in memory of her father, a sculpture made by artist John Topfer to reflect his family’s resilience through the 2003 bushfires, and a pen and ink drawing commissioned by Ermelindo Maculan of his demolished Duffy home.
Mr Fluffy, originally an innocuous business name, came to symbolise both sadness and fear. There is also a deep frustration that warnings were made as early as 1968 about the insulation’s dangers and weren’t heeded.
The exhibition features a newly created video piece (an excerpt can be watched here) with personal accounts from Canberra residents impacted by the decades-long saga. It’s a story of cold, post-war houses, cheap and effective asbestos imported from South Africa and, horrifyingly, children playing in the loose fill as Mr Fluffy went from house to house in Canberra suburbs offering his services.
Imagery, artworks, retrieved objects, background information and text stories amplify the sadness of Fluffy residents and explain the choices made by government at every level between 1968 and the current day.
In total, 1011 houses were demolished although a tiny handful remain in owners’ hands.
‘Mr Fluffy’: Our voices aims to refresh this uniquely ACT set of events, reminding audiences that the effects of loose fill asbestos insulation is ongoing for the community, and is told through the diverse experiences of those most impacted.
If you have the time I highly recommend visiting and having a look through the exhibit, it is difficult to understand the devastation Mr Fluffy has caused and this exhibit really helps you see things from others perspectives.