PHASE 1

a blessing to the atmosphere, a gift to the ocean

23.3.23

Queensland University of Technology Z12 Studios, Kelvin Grove 4059

a blessing to the atmosphere, a gift to the ocean, is an installation where two pieces of black tarp sit outside on grass. The larger piece has been embossed with a hidden Riḡorabana symbol, Galelu, meaning crab which signifies happiness. Covered with ice, it is accompanied by a small pile of salt. Small stones, found from the surrounding area fasten the tarps to the ground. It awaits in the natural envionment for intervention.

I ground myself on the glacial surface, pausing, then repeatedly scoop handfuls of salt and letting it sift it through my fingers onto the ice. By using a preserving agent like salt, I am attempting to prolong a natural ephemeral process that will inevitably occur. It is an endurance piece, that requires me to withstand the discomfort so enough salt can diffuse with the ice and leave residue behind.

After a few hours, the ice melts and the once dry grain of the salt transmutes into a milky liquid on the surface of the tarp. In a week’s time, the water will evaporate into the atmosphere, leaving behind salt. The sediment left behind fossilises the performance and the transformative process of crystallisation. The result is a highly textured constellation of white fractals that materialise a micro and macro perspective of patterns found in nature; that of topography of land or microscopic cells.

PHASE 2

a blessing to the atmosphere, a gift to the ocean

Queensland University of Technology Z12 Studios, Kelvin Grove 4059

The two pieces of plastic are relocated from their locus, stretched onto frames, and presented in an institutionalised gallery space. This change of location and orientation of the piece changes its function from an intervention into the natural environment into an institutionalised art object.

PHASE 3

sediment of body and sea

19.5.23

Live performance: 19 May 6:00pm

Queensland University of Technology Z12 Studios, Kelvin Grove 4059

sediment of body and sea is a sound installation performance where a stretched tarp hovers off the ground next to a small pile of salt, waiting for activation. Dark ambient audio, manipulated from field recordings from nature emanate from speakers positioned under the surface of the tarp.

The performance starts, I start picking up handfuls of salt, sieving the grains through my fingers and throwing them at the tarp. I then run my hands over the surface of the tarp, distributing the salt to the edges of the the dark platform. The performance ends as I step away, but the grains of salt continue to vibrate over the rumbling sounds coming from the speakers. As the soundscape continues, the salt slowly shifts around the tarp revealing transforming abstract patterns.

Field recordings: Isabella Wright
Audio technician: Connor Andree-Evarts