23rd Biennale of Sydney presents RIVUS (2022)
A major international contemporary art event Rivers, wetlands and other salt and freshwater ecosystems feature in the 23rd Biennale of Sydney (2022), titled rīvus, as dynamic living systems with varying degrees of political agency. Rivers are the sediment of culture.
Badger Bates, 23rd Biennale of Sydney Participant Interivew
Year: 2022
Year: 2022
Badger Bates was born on the Barka (Darling River). His identity is deeply entwined with the river, and his practice as an artist, cultural heritage consultant and environmental activist incorporates the landforms, animals, plants, songs and stories of Barkandji Country and the Barka. As such, his work cannot be thought of alone as art. It requires an understanding of the importance of the river and efforts to protect it to his culture and sense of self.
At the entrance to the Cutaway – a site where fresh and saltwater meet – Badger presents a sculptural Ngatji (rainbow serpent), produced in collaboration with blacksmith Matt Mewburn. The Ngatji is associated with the creation of the Barka and is a central motif in Bates’ world. Shimmering against the sandstone wall, it reminds people of the connection that Indigenous Australians have to this country, that non-Indigenous Australians belong to a landscape shaped by deep histories, and that any collective vision of the future must have Aboriginal people and the survival of their lands and culture at its centre.
It is our belief that the Ngatji is still with us and it will make rain. The thunder is the Ngatji rumbling and growling and they blow the rainbow after rain because they can go back on their journeys then…They created all the water and country when they travelled around. – Badger Bates
Badger Bates, Save our Ngatji (Rainbow Serpents), creators of spiritual rivers connecting water, sky, and land, 2022. Courtesy the artist. Made in collaboration with Matt Mewburn and the team at Eveleigh Works. Commissioned by the Biennale of Sydney with generous support from the Australia Council for the Arts.
At the entrance to the Cutaway – a site where fresh and saltwater meet – Badger presents a sculptural Ngatji (rainbow serpent), produced in collaboration with blacksmith Matt Mewburn. The Ngatji is associated with the creation of the Barka and is a central motif in Bates’ world. Shimmering against the sandstone wall, it reminds people of the connection that Indigenous Australians have to this country, that non-Indigenous Australians belong to a landscape shaped by deep histories, and that any collective vision of the future must have Aboriginal people and the survival of their lands and culture at its centre.
It is our belief that the Ngatji is still with us and it will make rain. The thunder is the Ngatji rumbling and growling and they blow the rainbow after rain because they can go back on their journeys then…They created all the water and country when they travelled around. – Badger Bates
Badger Bates, Save our Ngatji (Rainbow Serpents), creators of spiritual rivers connecting water, sky, and land, 2022. Courtesy the artist. Made in collaboration with Matt Mewburn and the team at Eveleigh Works. Commissioned by the Biennale of Sydney with generous support from the Australia Council for the Arts.
Bernie Krause, 23rd Biennale of Sydney Participant Interview
Year: 2022
Year: 2022
The Biennale of Sydney and Fondation Cartier pour l’art contemporain present the Australian première of The Great Animal Orchestra, a singular and memorable encounter with our living planet.
The environmentally focused work by American pioneer soundscape ecologist Bernie Krause and London-based collective United Visual Artists will be presented at the Stargazer Lawn, Barangaroo for the duration of the 23rd Biennale of Sydney, titled rīvus, from 12 March to 13 June 2022.
A collision of culture and nature, The Great Animal Orchestra will take you out of city life and into tropical grasslands, savannas and Arctic tundra for an ‘otherworldly encounter’ with a soundscape of 15,000 animal species recorded over the last 50 years. After working with musicians like The Doors and creating effects for film scores, Bernie Krause turned his back on studio work and headed outdoors to focus on field recording.
Krause’s unparalleled research is a rare insight into the unseen world of animals. It reveals the beauty and the intricacy of animal vocalisations, which are now in danger of being silenced by human activity. Through his recording, Krause implores us to start listening before hush descends on the ‘great animal orchestra’. The immersive soundscape comes to life with visualisations, created by United Visual Artists, of each animal’s contributions to the ‘orchestra’ in vulnerable habitats in Africa, North America, the Pacific Ocean and the Amazonas (Amazon River).
The Great Animal Orchestra is a compelling call to action to preserve our planet’s remaining wild places. Listen closely to these animal voices. How can you help to ensure that they are not silenced forever?
The environmentally focused work by American pioneer soundscape ecologist Bernie Krause and London-based collective United Visual Artists will be presented at the Stargazer Lawn, Barangaroo for the duration of the 23rd Biennale of Sydney, titled rīvus, from 12 March to 13 June 2022.
A collision of culture and nature, The Great Animal Orchestra will take you out of city life and into tropical grasslands, savannas and Arctic tundra for an ‘otherworldly encounter’ with a soundscape of 15,000 animal species recorded over the last 50 years. After working with musicians like The Doors and creating effects for film scores, Bernie Krause turned his back on studio work and headed outdoors to focus on field recording.
Krause’s unparalleled research is a rare insight into the unseen world of animals. It reveals the beauty and the intricacy of animal vocalisations, which are now in danger of being silenced by human activity. Through his recording, Krause implores us to start listening before hush descends on the ‘great animal orchestra’. The immersive soundscape comes to life with visualisations, created by United Visual Artists, of each animal’s contributions to the ‘orchestra’ in vulnerable habitats in Africa, North America, the Pacific Ocean and the Amazonas (Amazon River).
The Great Animal Orchestra is a compelling call to action to preserve our planet’s remaining wild places. Listen closely to these animal voices. How can you help to ensure that they are not silenced forever?
Cave Urban, 23rd Biennale of Sydney Participant Interview
Year: 2022
Year: 2022
Cave Urban is a Sydney-based multidisciplinary studio formed by artists, architects and designers. Their practice explores the intersection of art and architecture by creating large-scale public installations, with an emphasis on community engagement, collaboration, and ecological design. They utilise the design and making process as a means of open-source research and development. For Cave Urban, community engagement is key in every project. The aim is to establish a public connection to the work through education and participation; empowering those who participate and sharing a sense of ownership of the project with all who are involved.
Flow, 2022
bamboo
Courtesy the artists
Cave Urban work at an ambitious scale, bringing together the combined knowledge and experience of artists, architects and designers with a focus on sustainable materials and communal production. Flow is a new commission for rivus created in response to the Cutaway site and, at 600 square metres, is one of the largest bamboo structures ever produced in Australia.
With undulating forms inspired by the energy and movement of water, the course of Flow is altered by its contact with the architecture and with other artworks. So too, its twists and turns influence our bodies and perception of space – at some points we are standing on the riverbed, submerged beneath the water; and at others looking down at its textured surface.
Half of the 1000 bamboo poles used in the installation were harvested from a renewable forest in New South Wales and the rest repurposed from previous projects. Flow will, in turn, be put to reuse in future endeavours. Fast growing and adaptable, Bamboo is utilised worldwide as an ideal natural building material, offering, as Cave Urban write ‘strength, versatility, renewability and aesthetic beauty’.
Central to their collaborative practice is the desire to create environments that bring us back into alignment with the natural world. Enveloping and tactile, Flow embodies a river while also holding the memory of the forest.
Flow, 2022
bamboo
Courtesy the artists
Cave Urban work at an ambitious scale, bringing together the combined knowledge and experience of artists, architects and designers with a focus on sustainable materials and communal production. Flow is a new commission for rivus created in response to the Cutaway site and, at 600 square metres, is one of the largest bamboo structures ever produced in Australia.
With undulating forms inspired by the energy and movement of water, the course of Flow is altered by its contact with the architecture and with other artworks. So too, its twists and turns influence our bodies and perception of space – at some points we are standing on the riverbed, submerged beneath the water; and at others looking down at its textured surface.
Half of the 1000 bamboo poles used in the installation were harvested from a renewable forest in New South Wales and the rest repurposed from previous projects. Flow will, in turn, be put to reuse in future endeavours. Fast growing and adaptable, Bamboo is utilised worldwide as an ideal natural building material, offering, as Cave Urban write ‘strength, versatility, renewability and aesthetic beauty’.
Central to their collaborative practice is the desire to create environments that bring us back into alignment with the natural world. Enveloping and tactile, Flow embodies a river while also holding the memory of the forest.
Clare Milledge, 23rd Biennale of Sydney Participant Interview
Year: 2022
Year: 2022
“‘Imbas’ on its own is often taken to stand for ‘imbas forosna’, great knowledge which illuminates. As well as the name of a metre, it is also described as a technique associated with the highest grades of poets.” – Isolde ÓBrolcháin Carmody
The installation Imbás: a well at the bottom of the sea draws on the Story of Sinann, an Old Irish story/dindshenchas about the forming of the river Sinnan/Shannon. In the story, the woman Sinnan, a highly accomplished poet seeks imbás/inspiration. She journeys to a well at the bottom of the sea, surrounded by nine musical, magical hazel trees; there she draws imbás from the well in the form of bubbles released by the resident wise salmon, who chew on the hazelnuts fallen from the trees. This imbás/inspiration, previously jealously guarded by magicians is then released for the benefit of the community and forms the river Sinnan.
The connection between rivers, inspiration, poetry, truth-telling and ecology is explored in this work. Suspended glass paintings evoke the story of Sinann using poetic techniques; nine cauldrons stand in for the nine hazel trees at the well; and research notes appear as text on silk fragments. Music and voices of poets and ecologists are combined in a complex sound work triggered by the depth of the water under the floorboards of Pier 2/3.
—Clare Milledge, artist statement, 2022 Clare Milledge, Imbás: a well at the bottom of the sea, 2022 Courtesy the artist & STATION
Commissioned by the Biennale of Sydney with generous support from the Australia Council for the Arts
The installation Imbás: a well at the bottom of the sea draws on the Story of Sinann, an Old Irish story/dindshenchas about the forming of the river Sinnan/Shannon. In the story, the woman Sinnan, a highly accomplished poet seeks imbás/inspiration. She journeys to a well at the bottom of the sea, surrounded by nine musical, magical hazel trees; there she draws imbás from the well in the form of bubbles released by the resident wise salmon, who chew on the hazelnuts fallen from the trees. This imbás/inspiration, previously jealously guarded by magicians is then released for the benefit of the community and forms the river Sinnan.
The connection between rivers, inspiration, poetry, truth-telling and ecology is explored in this work. Suspended glass paintings evoke the story of Sinann using poetic techniques; nine cauldrons stand in for the nine hazel trees at the well; and research notes appear as text on silk fragments. Music and voices of poets and ecologists are combined in a complex sound work triggered by the depth of the water under the floorboards of Pier 2/3.
—Clare Milledge, artist statement, 2022 Clare Milledge, Imbás: a well at the bottom of the sea, 2022 Courtesy the artist & STATION
Commissioned by the Biennale of Sydney with generous support from the Australia Council for the Arts
D Harding, 23rd Biennale of Sydney Participant Interview
Year: 2022
Year: 2022
D Harding is a descendant of the Bidjara, Ghungalu and Garingbal peoples, in their practice they draw upon and maintain the spiritual and philosophical sensibilities of their cultural inheritances. Harding uses stenciling to perform the same techniques as their ancestors, revealing complex and layered cultural heritage and aesthetic histories. Often paying homage to family members their work seeks new forms for sharing material and knowledges.
For the 23rd Biennale of Sydney, Harding continues to explore the visual and social languages of their community as a cultural continuum. Harding has created a dialogue between families, maps and pastoral lease holders to plot the course of tributaries and the Mimosa Creek. Through repetitive gesture and durational movement using water and gum arabic Harding has carved a wall painting, the offering of ochre pigments to this place remains unperformed, the pigment hangs from a data point on the map in a repurposed vessel. The wall work was formed in response to data gathered on Ghungalu Country in Central Queensland by community members from the Woorabinda area and beyond. The legacy of existing programs on the ground in Woorabinda and knowledges shared by senior community members Uncle Steven Kemp, Aunty Michelle Leisha and Uncle Milton Lawton are central to this work. In parallel, while this transfer of knowledges is carved on Gadigal country, community members in Woorabinda will continue to return to walk these tributaries and creeks to map out direct access for local cultural knowledge to be recognised as environmental science and respond to the current state of the waterways on Ghungalu Country.
D Harding, Untitled (wall composition), 2022 pigment and gum arabic on cardboard Courtesy the artist & Milani Gallery, Brisbane Commissioned by the Biennale of Sydney with generous support from the Australia Council for the Arts
For the 23rd Biennale of Sydney, Harding continues to explore the visual and social languages of their community as a cultural continuum. Harding has created a dialogue between families, maps and pastoral lease holders to plot the course of tributaries and the Mimosa Creek. Through repetitive gesture and durational movement using water and gum arabic Harding has carved a wall painting, the offering of ochre pigments to this place remains unperformed, the pigment hangs from a data point on the map in a repurposed vessel. The wall work was formed in response to data gathered on Ghungalu Country in Central Queensland by community members from the Woorabinda area and beyond. The legacy of existing programs on the ground in Woorabinda and knowledges shared by senior community members Uncle Steven Kemp, Aunty Michelle Leisha and Uncle Milton Lawton are central to this work. In parallel, while this transfer of knowledges is carved on Gadigal country, community members in Woorabinda will continue to return to walk these tributaries and creeks to map out direct access for local cultural knowledge to be recognised as environmental science and respond to the current state of the waterways on Ghungalu Country.
D Harding, Untitled (wall composition), 2022 pigment and gum arabic on cardboard Courtesy the artist & Milani Gallery, Brisbane Commissioned by the Biennale of Sydney with generous support from the Australia Council for the Arts
Diana Sherer, 23rd Biennale of Sydney Participant Interview
Year: 2022
Year: 2022
In a laboratory-like set up, visitors are invited to see Diana Scherer at work as she undertakes what she refers to as “collaborations with nature” growing networks of roots into unique patterns of woven textile. Known by neurobiologists as the brain of plants, Scherer draws attention to roots as active intelligent agents in the process of producing living fabrics.
Scherer is particularly fascinated by the hidden systems of plants. Her project Entanglement looks at xylem vessels, the tissue responsible for transportation of water through plants. Examining closely the interdependence of plants and water, the pattern Scherer creates with the roots is inspired by the forms of the xylem vessels in plant anatomy. The emergence of these water vessels in plants is considered one of the most important evolutions in the life of plants. Taking geometric and ordering principles and patterns from nature, Scherer poses a dilemma as her craft is both a manipulation of natural processes and possible cultivation of a joint path together.
“A root navigates, knows what is up and down, perceives gravity and can locate moisture and chemicals. Roots are incredibly strong. In their search for food and space they fight for every space they can find. I use this strength to create my work. I expose the subterranean life and natural network turns into a textile-like material. The dynamism of the plant makes it seem as if the work is making itself.
I have learned to deal with the autonomy of nature. Despite my intervention, the outcome is unpredictable every time. The interaction of control and letting go is an important element in my work.” —Diana Schererhttps://vimeo.com/774063351
Scherer is particularly fascinated by the hidden systems of plants. Her project Entanglement looks at xylem vessels, the tissue responsible for transportation of water through plants. Examining closely the interdependence of plants and water, the pattern Scherer creates with the roots is inspired by the forms of the xylem vessels in plant anatomy. The emergence of these water vessels in plants is considered one of the most important evolutions in the life of plants. Taking geometric and ordering principles and patterns from nature, Scherer poses a dilemma as her craft is both a manipulation of natural processes and possible cultivation of a joint path together.
“A root navigates, knows what is up and down, perceives gravity and can locate moisture and chemicals. Roots are incredibly strong. In their search for food and space they fight for every space they can find. I use this strength to create my work. I expose the subterranean life and natural network turns into a textile-like material. The dynamism of the plant makes it seem as if the work is making itself.
I have learned to deal with the autonomy of nature. Despite my intervention, the outcome is unpredictable every time. The interaction of control and letting go is an important element in my work.” —Diana Schererhttps://vimeo.com/774063351
Jessie French, 23rd Biennale of Sydney Participant Interview
Year: 2022
Year: 2022
Jessie French explores speculative futures through algae-based bioplastic and water-based ecologies. Housed within an ethos of consumption, sustainability and regeneration, her practice invites others to engage with the possibilities of a post-petrochemical world. Through experimenting with other materials, she explores the potential of closed-loop systems of (re)use and conscious consumption and interaction with objects. In 2020, French founded OTHER MATTER, an experimental design studio working with algae-based bioplastics which engages others in the possibilities of new materials though objects, experiences and futures.
Leeroy New, 23rd Biennale of Sydney Participant Interview
Year: 2022
Year: 2022
Leeroy New creates fantastical, large-scale installations that refer to otherworldly creatures and alien structures. Calling attention to social issues through his art, New prefers to present his work in public space, away from the spatial limitations and Eurocentric history of art galleries. For rīvus, the artist has created a site-specific sculpture that wraps around the outside of the A.C.E building. The complex form of the piece is inspired by the organic root structure of the Balete tree of Southeast Asia.
The work is made from recycled materials which are transformed through New’s artmaking process. The artist is inspired by those living in poverty in the Philippines, whose ingenuity and resourcefulness in turning leftover materials into decorative objects is a part of the Filipino sensibility and culture.
Fantasy plays a large part in determining the form of New’s constructions as a means of exploring the possibility of Indigenous Filipino identities. These stories and cultural practices have been buried under years of Spanish Colonialism and American Nationalism.
The work is made from recycled materials which are transformed through New’s artmaking process. The artist is inspired by those living in poverty in the Philippines, whose ingenuity and resourcefulness in turning leftover materials into decorative objects is a part of the Filipino sensibility and culture.
Fantasy plays a large part in determining the form of New’s constructions as a means of exploring the possibility of Indigenous Filipino identities. These stories and cultural practices have been buried under years of Spanish Colonialism and American Nationalism.
Torres Strait 8 (Yessie Mosby), 23rd Biennale of Sydney Participant Interview
Year: 2022
Year: 2022
The Torres Strait 8 are a group of claimants and Traditional Owners from Zenadh Kes (Torres Strait Islands) taking the Australian government to the Human Rights Committee of the United Nations for its inaction over climate change. Zenadh Kes is home to Torres Strait Islanders who have lived with a deep connection to land, sea, sky and culture for over 60,000 years. The people of Zenadh Kes are on the front line of climate change with rising sea levels, increasing extreme weather events and coastal erosion affecting the 18 inhabited islands in the region and threatening many communities’ way of life and culture.
Torres Strait 8 Members
Yessie Mosby, Masig (Yorke Island)
Kabay Tamu, Warraber (Sue Island)
Keith Pabai, Boigu (Boigu Island)
Stanley Marama, Boigu (Boigu Island)
Nazareth Warria, Masig (Yorke Island)
Ted Billy, Warraber (Sue Island)
Daniel Billy, Warraber (Sue Island)
Nazareth Fauid, Poruma (Coconut Island)
For the 23rd Biennale of Sydney, the Torres Strait 8 participate with a hybrid art-as-protest work led by Masig cultural practitioner Yessie Mosby. Yessie has carved a series of new totem poles from materials, pigments and fibres found on the Islands. The mythological totems share stories of ancestral beings in deep saltwater. These stories are interconnected with the current climate trauma the communities are experiencing, Yessie says ‘we will be the first climate refugees in this country.’ The collective’s participation magnifies the activism of the Our Islands Our Home campaign fighting for justice for the communities of Zenadh Kes and holding the Australian Government to account on climate change policy.
You can read more about the Torres Strait 8’s Our Islands Our Home campaign and sign the petition by visiting https://ourislandsourhome.com.au/
Our Islands Our Home is supported by 350.org Australia, ClientEarth, the environmental law charity supporting the UN complaint, the land and sea council Gur A Baradharaw Kod; and the Seed Youth Indigenous Climate Network.
Torres Strait 8 Members
Yessie Mosby, Masig (Yorke Island)
Kabay Tamu, Warraber (Sue Island)
Keith Pabai, Boigu (Boigu Island)
Stanley Marama, Boigu (Boigu Island)
Nazareth Warria, Masig (Yorke Island)
Ted Billy, Warraber (Sue Island)
Daniel Billy, Warraber (Sue Island)
Nazareth Fauid, Poruma (Coconut Island)
For the 23rd Biennale of Sydney, the Torres Strait 8 participate with a hybrid art-as-protest work led by Masig cultural practitioner Yessie Mosby. Yessie has carved a series of new totem poles from materials, pigments and fibres found on the Islands. The mythological totems share stories of ancestral beings in deep saltwater. These stories are interconnected with the current climate trauma the communities are experiencing, Yessie says ‘we will be the first climate refugees in this country.’ The collective’s participation magnifies the activism of the Our Islands Our Home campaign fighting for justice for the communities of Zenadh Kes and holding the Australian Government to account on climate change policy.
You can read more about the Torres Strait 8’s Our Islands Our Home campaign and sign the petition by visiting https://ourislandsourhome.com.au/
Our Islands Our Home is supported by 350.org Australia, ClientEarth, the environmental law charity supporting the UN complaint, the land and sea council Gur A Baradharaw Kod; and the Seed Youth Indigenous Climate Network.
Torres Strait 8 (Daniel Billy), 23rd Biennale of Sydney Participant Interview
Year: 2022
Year: 2022
The Torres Strait 8 are a group of claimants and Traditional Owners from Zenadh Kes (Torres Strait Islands) taking the Australian government to the Human Rights Committee of the United Nations for its inaction over climate change. Zenadh Kes is home to Torres Strait Islanders who have lived with a deep connection to land, sea, sky and culture for over 60,000 years. The people of Zenadh Kes are on the front line of climate change with rising sea levels, increasing extreme weather events and coastal erosion affecting the 18 inhabited islands in the region and threatening many communities’ way of life and culture.
Torres Strait 8 Members
Yessie Mosby, Masig (Yorke Island)
Kabay Tamu, Warraber (Sue Island)
Keith Pabai, Boigu (Boigu Island)
Stanley Marama, Boigu (Boigu Island)
Nazareth Warria, Masig (Yorke Island)
Ted Billy, Warraber (Sue Island)
Daniel Billy, Warraber (Sue Island)
Nazareth Fauid, Poruma (Coconut Island)
For the 23rd Biennale of Sydney, the Torres Strait 8 participate with a hybrid art-as-protest work led by Masig cultural practitioner Yessie Mosby. Yessie has carved a series of new totem poles from materials, pigments and fibres found on the Islands. The mythological totems share stories of ancestral beings in deep saltwater. These stories are interconnected with the current climate trauma the communities are experiencing, Yessie says ‘we will be the first climate refugees in this country.’ The collective’s participation magnifies the activism of the Our Islands Our Home campaign fighting for justice for the communities of Zenadh Kes and holding the Australian Government to account on climate change policy.
You can read more about the Torres Strait 8’s Our Islands Our Home campaign and sign the petition by visiting https://ourislandsourhome.com.au/
Our Islands Our Home is supported by 350.org Australia, ClientEarth, the environmental law charity supporting the UN complaint, the land and sea council Gur A Baradharaw Kod; and the Seed Youth Indigenous Climate Network.
Torres Strait 8 Members
Yessie Mosby, Masig (Yorke Island)
Kabay Tamu, Warraber (Sue Island)
Keith Pabai, Boigu (Boigu Island)
Stanley Marama, Boigu (Boigu Island)
Nazareth Warria, Masig (Yorke Island)
Ted Billy, Warraber (Sue Island)
Daniel Billy, Warraber (Sue Island)
Nazareth Fauid, Poruma (Coconut Island)
For the 23rd Biennale of Sydney, the Torres Strait 8 participate with a hybrid art-as-protest work led by Masig cultural practitioner Yessie Mosby. Yessie has carved a series of new totem poles from materials, pigments and fibres found on the Islands. The mythological totems share stories of ancestral beings in deep saltwater. These stories are interconnected with the current climate trauma the communities are experiencing, Yessie says ‘we will be the first climate refugees in this country.’ The collective’s participation magnifies the activism of the Our Islands Our Home campaign fighting for justice for the communities of Zenadh Kes and holding the Australian Government to account on climate change policy.
You can read more about the Torres Strait 8’s Our Islands Our Home campaign and sign the petition by visiting https://ourislandsourhome.com.au/
Our Islands Our Home is supported by 350.org Australia, ClientEarth, the environmental law charity supporting the UN complaint, the land and sea council Gur A Baradharaw Kod; and the Seed Youth Indigenous Climate Network.