witness/ tree

STORY

this installation should be understood as a part of a much larger story which is unfolding: for the time being, the trunk of this ancestor tree will remain where she fell in Tuthangga, and the limbs here in the gallery – until community decides what the next step is. Senior Kaurna Man, Uncle Mickey Kumatpi O’Brien shared an on-site smoking ceremony of the waadlawarnka [fallen tree], as a first step in this process.

WITNESSING

when researching the place-based history of Tuthangga, it becomes evident that the colony directed a huge amount of its energy towards obsessive clearing, fencing and objectification of this country. this destruction of Kaurna land and home was carried out with the available tools of weapons, livestock, and fire:

we recognize she witnessed this violence and now [unsteadily] we are attempting to create space for ourselves and the public to bear witness to her:

for the first iteration of this project, we are using the gallery to create an installation that acknowledges her:

fall
body
sound

all of which carries our attempt to pay attention through an embodied response: the charcoal is made with-from her, as is our mark-making and words.

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

We acknowledge that Kaurna is not our language, but we feel it is critical for it to be present in this place-responsive body of work – as a gesture of respect by us, to this unceded country. Where we have used Kaurna language, we sought advice and approval from Uncle Mickey Kumatpi O’Brien. We are immensely thankful for his guidance, knowledge, and ceremony – all of which guided this project and in turn became part of it.

The artists would also like to acknowledge how thankful we are for the:
– creative contribution & mentoring by Land Based Artist, Dave Laslett:
-advocacy of City of Adelaide Horticulture Team Leader, Matt Jorgensen
-mentoring by Narungga poet, artist and researcher, Natalie Harkin.