Ḡatu ḡatu (meaning tattoo) are traditionally inscribed on the skin of the Balawaian people of Rigo, Papua Niugini to signify status. The symbols act as physical and metaphoric channels on the surface of the installation—a conduit and archive for cultural knowledge to flow.

Through the sculpture’s cyclical flow of water, the work draws parallels between tidal systems and the intergenerational transmission of cultural knowledge; emerging, shifting, and diluting over time. Remaining in constant flux, the work cannot be experienced the same way twice.

Over the course of the exhibition, three live performances will activate the installation through sound, ritual, and technology. Created separately in collaboration with Nadeem Tiafau Eshraghi and Oscar Keating, the performances reinterpret oceanic sounds, stories, and mythologies through embodied and sonic practice.


Performance Video Documentation ︎︎︎
Exhibition Soundscape ︎︎︎