Three teams

Reflecting on the binary, oppositional nature of the familiar two-team sporting contest, in 2012 conceptual artist Gabrielle de Vietri embarked on a project aimed at developing and staging a three team Aussie rules game. De Vietri worked with locals in the rural community of Horsham in northwest Victoria to formulate the structure and rules of the new game. All elements were up for revision: would the field be a different shape? Would it be triangular or round? How would the rules change? How many players per side? What would happen to a competition if collaboration were one of its elements? During the six-month consultation phase de Vietri took to the streets with two companions, a video camera, and a drawing board, capturing the intricate discussions about the potential game and its many permutations. In October 2013, the first ever game of three team Aussie rules took place between the Horsham RSL Diggers, Taylors Lake and Noradjuha-Quantong. With the highest score after overtime at the end of the last third, the game was divided into three 'thirds', rather than the conventional four quarters—the jubilant Taylors Lakes players were presented a three-handled trophy. De Vietri's presentation here comprises documentation of the consultation phase and footage of the actual game. De Vietri's work is process-oriented and relies upon audience participation that is meaningful and invested; the collaborative and inclusive nature of the game's development is equally as important as the match itself.