ISSUE 6: What lies beneath? by Sandra Conte

EDITION #6 – FEBRUARY 1 – JUNE 1 2015 www.earth-emag.com

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WARNING ~ ABORIGINAL AND TORRES STRAIT ISLANDER PEOPLES SHOULD BE AWARE THAT THIS PUBLICATION AND WEBSITE MAY CONTAIN IMAGES AND/OR NAMES OF PEOPLE WHO HAVE PASSED AWAY.

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FIRST AND FINAL WORDS – A TRIBUTE CEFERINO (NINO) SABATINO (1975-2014) The sea environment plays an enormous part in my lifestyle and culture as well. I would like to share with people our culture and way of living in the Torres Strait Islands. I would also like to share my artistic skills with our youth in the Torres Straits so that our culture may be carried and preserved, especially our identity. Nino Sabatino, a Torres Strait Island artist, in recent years, worked with Ghost nets Australia to raise awareness of ocean pollution. We pay tribute to the artist and man whose family, through the permission of his wife, has allowed us to honour his legacy. Born on Waiben (Thursday) Island in 1975, Nino grew up and lived most of his life on Kiriri (Hammond) Island in the Torres Strait. With a passion for multiple media including

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drawing, ceramics, linocuts, painting as well as hand craft: dhoeri making, ghost netting and wood carving, he found inspiration from the stories of his Elders. Totems which he depicted in his work included the Hammerhead Shark (Irwapap) Eastern Island Torres Straits from his Mother’s side; on his Father’s side, the Night Heron (Gau) Central Island Torres Straits. Nino held an Associate Diploma of Art from the Thursday Island Campus of Tropical North Queensland Institute (TNQI) of TAFE.

Final Word Ghost nets are abandoned fishing nets that drift freely in the ocean. Occasionally they sometimes end up on the shoreline, around our islands and around other coast areas of the gulf country of Australia. Being a visual artist, husband and father, myself and my family while out having picnics we collect the ghost nets and then turn the nets into artwork.

The artworks that I like and love to create are Turtles, Dugongs, Reef fish and other sea creatures. I feel that it is important for me as a Torres Strait visual artist to share with others that this is a major problem to our marine environment and all the animals in the ocean that face these nets on a day to day basis. Therefore by doing this I am sharing the importance of ghost nets and the problem that it brings to our Islands and other communities. Ghost net is one of many art mediums that I work with; to showcase my culture and the sea environment that surrounds the Torres Strait Islands. Pre-existing quotes from Mr Sabatino as provided by his wife Kerrie Sabatino to eARTh e-mag, December 2014. Ceferino (Nino) Sabatino (1975-2014) http://www.ninosabatino.com.au/

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The late Nino Sabatino with his turtle made in September 2014. Photograph supplied courtesy Kerrie Sabatino..

Dumped fishing nets donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t sink, they kill marine life with up to 200 species having become entangled; this is not surprising given one net alone can be 20 kilometres long. There is also the sabotaging of nets purported to be by some fishermen when in direct competition with others. There is also the case of some nets getting lost. GhostNets Australia continues in its vigil to save marine life. It also has a record of collaborating closely with artists who reclaim the nets and other debris to both recycle and raise awareness among the community about the problem. Tapestries have been made from fishing nets and the Australian Museum in Sydney, Australia, has worked closely with artists from the Torres Straits to weave an extensive, piece entitled â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;Stories of the Seaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;. The Museum has also commissioned large pieces with traditional stories about marine creatures which is both charming and disarming in that the serious environmental issue behind the work is at the forefront.

For further information go to: http://www.abc.net.au/news/2014-06-06/ ghost-net-art/5504518 http://australianmuseum.net.au/movie/SeaBlanket#sthash.TuRdOT0V.PVvrHgEF.dpuf http://australianmuseum.net.au/blogpost/ Science/Ghost-Net-Art-Stopping-theSlaughter GhostNets Australia is a network of indigenous rangers, artists, researchers, fishers and environmentalists working together to reduce ghost nets. As explained on their Facebook page l- : www.facebook. com/pages/GhostNets-Australia/

What is a Ghost Net? Ghost nets are fishing nets that have been lost accidentally, deliberately discarded, or simply abandoned at sea. They drift with the currents and tides for many years, continuing to catch and kill turtles, sharks, fish and other marine wildlife. the water issue

Crocodile Islands Ranger Samuel Wumulul recovering a ghost net from his country. Photograph by John Skuja. eARTh e-mag salutes the work of the Crocodile Islands Rangers and their ongoing ghost net and other essential ranger work in Arnhem Land. http://crocodileislandsrangers.org

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Northern Australia supports an array of marine and coastal species including six of the worldâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s seven marine turtle species and four sawfish species, many of whose populations have declined elsewhere. Ghost nets are part of vast raft of marine debris arriving from SE Asia that are fouling this otherwise pristine coastline, mostly owned and occupied by Indigenous peoples of Australia.

Who are GhostNets Australia? Over the past 10 years in Northern Australia, Indigenous Rangers from the NT and QLD have been concerned about the many turtles that are entangled in ghost nets, and the large number of nets that wash up on the beaches. The Rangers collaborated with other non-government organisations to clean up and monitor ghost nets in the Gulf of Carpentaria. In response to these concerns, GhostNets Australia (GNA) was established in 2004 as an alliance of Indigenous communities stretching across Northern Australia from the Torres Straits and the Gulf of Carpentaria to the Kimberleys. This alliance peaked in 2009 with 31 communities involved in ghost net removal and data collection. Since its establishment, the rangers have removed over 13,000 ghost nets of varying sizes from approximately 2500 km of coastline. This has resulted in the recovery of a proportion of the trapped wildlife, particularly marine turtles, and the prevention of the ghost nets from returning to the sea where they can continue their destructing life-cycle. GNA promotes Indigenous interests and seeks to assist Aboriginal communities to manage their sea country.

Disposal of this rubbish turned out to be as big an issue in this remote region as the rubbish itself. In 2009 GNA established a project to re-use this material into creations. From humble beginnings the Ghost Net Art Project has developed a new genre of art resulting in exhibitions and purchases world wide. As less than 10% of these nets have been attributed to Australian fisheries GNA has explored the origin of the nets by looking at the movement of the currents, types of fishing in the region and the construction of the net material found. Pinpointing the physical origin of the nets to the Arafura Sea to the north of Australia, GNA has been able to workshop and interview fishers in this region to determine the cause of this huge escalation in ghost nets. http://www.ghostnets.com.au/

Global Sea Change While artists and art centres, galleries, communities, fishermen, rangers, researchers, government and non-government organisations having contributed to GhostNets Australiaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s main mission to stop the ghost nets, where to from here? On a global scale, World Animal Protection has launched the Sea Change campaign to tackle the problem with the Global Ghost Gear Initiative to save one million animals by 2018 in a ghost gear free future. Why not jump on board? http://www.worldanimalprotection.org.au/our-work/animals-wild/ sea-change-campaign-tackling-ghost-fishing-gear

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FIRST WORD Torres Straits Tribute GhostNets

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View from eARTh by Sandra Conte 9 Poet-Tree Dedication – Balance-Unbalance, 2015 Hot Water (Water, Peace and War) Fluidata

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REVIEWS Flood Language Water Views Mushrooms and Umbrellas Great Lakes Woodford Water by Night

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PREVIEWS Look out for eARThYZine A Thousand Words Wilderness Water Expeditions

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COVER STORY INTRODUCING River Suit Series 20 Nadya Makes her Mark Damien O’Mara FEATURES ‘No man is an Island’ Michael Legge-Wilkinson

Words for Water Tracey Benson

Threaded Waterways Jolanta Szymczyk

Beyond the Mist Christian Spencer

PROFILES Reverse Polarity 44 Art of the Diver 47 Communing with the Sea 50 REGULARS Mara Migration River Listening

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HIGHLIGHTS Chasing Waterfalls What on eARTh?

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eARThy Kids Octonauts Tour to Save the Reef World Oceans Day Fun Frog Facts ‘F’ is for Festivals

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eARTh Biz

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PRODUCTION eARTh e-mag is produced by Sandra Conte of Conte Creative Concepts as a goodwill project. eARTh e-mag thanks the following contributors to this edition: Dr Leah Barclay, Michaél Beaty, Tracey Benson, Steve Bristow, Zandalee Clarke, Jaia Conte, James Cunningham, Richard Field, Suzon Fuks, Joolie Gibbs, Dr John Skuja, Peter Gray, Riki Gunn, Jenny Grundy, Danielle Harvey, Kirri-Lee Huggett, Michael Legge-Wilkinson, Mandi McIntyre, Damien O’Mara, Beatrice Post, Maree Prior, Kerrie Sabatino, Margarita Sampson, Christian Spencer, Jolanta Szymczyk, Jess Tanner; facilitation by Linda Carroli, Ruth Della, Sarah Heath, Meg Geer, support by Queensland Garden Expo. Engaged Designers: Nadya Stillmark, Sarah Heath DISCLAIMER

eARTh e-mag is an online publication produced by Conte Next Issue 104 Creative Concepts showcasing earth-inspired art from around the globe. Content of eARTh e-mag is subject The Last Wave 104

to copyright. Reproduction in whole or in part without written permission of the e-mag producer, team or relevant contributors is prohibited. Views expressed in eARTh e-mag are not necessarily those of the producer or core team. The publication of editorial or advertisement does not necessarily constitute an endorsement of views or opinions expressed and the producer does not accept responsibility for statements made by advertisers or contributors.

Sandra Conte, Producer eARTh, with Sari in a Pacific Ocean playground.

Water, water everywhere nor any drop to drink. Will this become the adage for our future, with climate change upon us? Like the poem from which this line comes, Samuel Taylor Coleridge’s ‘The Rime of the Ancient Mariner’, penned in 1797-1798, water has many applications, it can represent danger, the supernatural or serenity.

FRONT COVER: Front Cover: Damien O’Mara| River Suit 5 | 44 x 150 cm, | Inkjet print on photorag | 2013 BACK COVER: Steve Bristow | The Last Wave | Photography Daniel Michaud | Swell Sculpture Festival 2012 TEAM CONTRIBUTORS: The Conte Creative Concepts Team of goodwill contributors to eARTh ~ Producer: Sandra; Music man: Jaia; Social Media Butterfly: Zandalee; eARThy Kids Advisor: Sari; Animal Rep.: Marley

So swim into this edition number six of eARTh e-mag celebrating water, the life-giving force more precious than gold, wade through the articles on groundbreaking artists and you will happen upon the section dedicated to Balance-Unbalance 2015, the biannual global conference, where delegates and eARTh e-mag contributors will converge on the desert state of Arizona in March. There, they will focus on water, climate, and place, seeking dialogues and creative projects engaged with water and climate problems around the world. Given the Sonoran Desert location, discussions and presentations will, likely, address water issues and climate change in the context of desert landscapes. Regular eARTh e-mag contributor, Dr. Leah Barclay, is the Virtual Conference Chair of Balance-Unbalance 2015 (Convenor of BalanceUnbalance 2013) and also brings her ‘River Listening’ project to this edition. Meanwhile, African Correspondent and photographer, Richard Field brings water-splashing scenes and

travels readers with a wildebeest migration, explaining why soil quality is the motivation. Many more stories open our eyes to the power of art and water in raising environmental awareness; these come from a range of locations, such as the river Dart, Dartmoor, Devon, UK to the rainforests of Brazil, the saltwater peoples of the Torres Straits, the inspiration of island realms and thirsty parts of our planet. Art inspired by water-filled/parched environments calls for consideration in making a sea change towards a lifestyle adaptation in a world where there will be probable increase in drought, floods, altered sea levels, storms and surges. The cover image by Damien O’Mara stirs both intrigue and contemplation, begging the question, are we ‘suited up’ for climate change as unknown territory? The global ‘given’ is that water is a necessity but what does water mean to you and what are you going to do about the changing water in your world? Artists reflecting on water may have found inspired answers by studying what lies beneath. Yours in eARTh Sandi www.earth-emag.com

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Jess Tanner is an UK environmental artist and nature connection practitioner. She is also cofounder of the community organisation Embodied Ecology Arts, based in the South West of England. Embodied Ecology Arts offer outdoors workshops, courses and retreats that seek to promote a deeper awareness and experience of the ecoself moments that are continuously taking place around us and within us, offering the opportunity to engage soulfully with creative processes that emerge from encounters with the landscape, trees, rocks, earth, rivers, birds, animals, fire and the elementsâ&#x20AC;Ś.When these encounters occur they can be expressed through stillness, silence, breath, movement, art-making, music, writing, songâ&#x20AC;Ś

We call this art-through-being-with-nature, which can lead to a form of soulful activism, which EEA describe as being an engaged yet soft, subtle and intuitive approach towards restoring the Earth, emerging from a heart-felt response born from a bodily knowing that we are one with this Earth, and we share a soulful connection to the natural world. For more information about Embodied Ecology Arts visit their blog: www.embodiedecologyarts.tumblr.com Outdoors workshops and retreats that deepen our connection to nature, body and self, inviting freedom for creativity and soulful expression.

WATER, WHAT LIES BENEATH?... BENEATH THERE LIES A SONG... BY JESS TANNER

River Prayer - reflections of the heart, photograph by Jess Tanner

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I came here to sit with her... to listen... to feel her song rise up within me. A song that I no longer remember, that was not mine for the keeping... just a moment in time, but perhaps still a memory, flowing within her watery depths, awaiting my return. I came here bleeding, aching from the fight, to tell her wholeheartedly, and without shame, that â&#x20AC;&#x153;I am so very lostâ&#x20AC;?. For now is a time to be seen, to be witnessed, to fall to our knees before her altar, and be overcome in our reverence... Now is also a time of great pain... as our bodies, heavy, weary, stir from their deep slumber, and our hearts begin their breaking open, we do not know what is on the other side of the river bank... As we take our first tiny steps into this brave new world, shadow will be waiting, and will be the first to crown us... the first lesson, to gather ourselves up from the dust and discover our own light... There is no escaping her transparency, her clarity, her wisdom... She knows of the longing, the ebb and flow of our lives... and she hears our hearts crying out, to let go of the rock we have been holding onto for so long now... and to immerse into her unknown mysteries that lie beneath the tired surface, to be guided through the dark fearful waters and into the enchanted kingdom that dwells beneath the everyday doubt and uncertainty that rules over our days and nights... We come to her to heal, to be held, to purify and to sing once more... For what lies beneath is the song of new life... and a new story... We come as ourselves, an offering of all that we are, and to bare witness to her flow, her beauty and her grace... and to be swept off our feet in our reverence.

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We are living in a world reaching a critical point where the equilibrium between a healthy environment, the energy our society needs to maintain or improve this lifestyle and the interconnected economies could pass more quickly than expected from the current complex balance to a complete new reality where unbalance would be the rule and human beings would need to be as creative as never before to survive. Dr Ricardo Dal Farra, Founder, Balance-Unbalance International Conference Transdisciplinary Workshop Chair Balance-Unbalance 2015

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Arizona - Photographs by Garth Paine http://www.activatedspace.com Garth Paine retains copyright, may not be used without permission

BALANCE-UNBALANCE 2015 WATER, CLIMATE AND PLACE, REIMAGINING ENVIRONMENTS eARTh e-mag wishes to highlight the dedication of the BalanceUnbalance biannual global conference team. It was at the last iteration in June 2013, held in the UNESCO Noosa Biosphere Reserve on the Sunshine Coast of Australia, that eARTh e-mag launched via a Pecha Kucha presentation with a love poem to the environment. The next conference has come around and is taking place over March 27-29, 2015 as hosted by Arizona State University. The 2015 conference theme is Water, Climate, Place: Reimagining Environments Dr. Sabine Feisst and Dr. Garth Paine, the conveners of the conference, set the theme with the aim to provoke discourse around what our elusive future might hold and how transdisciplinary thought and action could be used as tools for positive change.

speakers and programming for 2015 had not been locked away. Still we have some teasers with Waterwheel and Igneous having written for eARTh e-mag, referencing their involvement in this year’s conference; Dr. Leah Barclay, Virtual Chair of Balance Unbalance 2015, is also a regular contributor to eARTh e-mag and has written a separate piece about her ‘River Listening’ project. For now, the eARTh team is dreaming about how we might make it to Arizona, but knowing if our desire to go is eclipsed by other agendas we do have that virtual link through Dr. Barclay to keep eARTh e-mag readers abreast of the latest news from the conference.

While eARTh e-mag wished to dedicate this entire sixth edition, like the first, to Balance-Unbalance, many of the keynote

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Balance-Unbalance 2015 be involved! Balance-Unbalance 2015 will host exhibitions, concerts, paper presentations, panels and virtual content along with workshops on trash, activism, water conservation and other issues relating to environmental management.

around these issues, here are some links: Sustainability Services http://www.aecom.com/What+We+Do/ Environment/Practice+Areas/Corporate+ Advisory+and+Sustainability+Services Water Management http://www.aecom.com/What+We+Do/ Water

Workshops and KEYNOTE SPEAKERS In addition there are two days of highlevel workshops, running March 25-26, in the days leading up such as: Designing Resilient Communities with GARY LAWRENCE from AECOM. Gary is one of several keynote speakers for Balance-Unbalance 2015 and Chief Sustainability officer at AECOM, recently overseeing a massive project to redevelop water catchment and drinking water systems for Malaysia; he is also working on global agreements for the Nature Conservancy with governments to develop standards for resilient communities – examining risk factors and infrastructure factors that make communities and environments resilient to natural disaster, so they fail softly and are easily recoverable. To engage

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As part of Balance-Unbalance 2015, Curran will give a keynote and direct one of his signature compositions ‘Maritime Rites’ on Tempe Town Lake on March 27. It is a site-specific work to be performed on and near bodies of water, harbors, rivers, or lakes, featuring musicians in boats as well as sounds of water, ship horns, bird song and other acoustic properties of the outdoor environment. ‘Maritime Rites’ exists in different versions and has been adapted to many beautiful sites all over the world, such as lakes in Rome, Berlin, New York City’s Central Park and in Chicago, rivers in London, Amsterdam, Frankfurt, and Sydney Harbour and now in the desert setting of Tempe, Arizona.

Alvin Curran, Ferrara, 2002. Photo Claudio Casanova.

ALVIN CURRAN (Keynote Speaker) Alvin Curran is an internationally renowned and award-winning American composer who has received recognition for compositions involving unconventional instruments, unusual performance situations and sites, and live-electronic improvisations.

CHAR MILLER (Keynote Speaker) Char Miller is a renowned and awardwinning environmental historian who specializes in US environmental history, urban history, politics and policy, water issues, federal public-lands management, and cultural history. He is the director of the Environmental Analysis Program and W. M. Keck Professor of Environmental Analysis at Pomona College. He is a prolific writer who published twenty books and edited volumes including:

– Water in the Twenty-First Century West (Oregon State University Press, 2009) – Fluid Arguments: Five Centuries of Western Water Conflict (University of Arizona Press, 2001) – Public Lands, Public Debates: A Century of Controversy (Oregon State University Press, 2012) Char Miller won prestigious prizes for his work: He was named Distinguished Lecturer for the Organization of American Historians; titled Fellow by the Forest History Society and received the American Society for Environmental History’s first Public Outreach Award for his blog Golden Green: http://www.kcet.org/user/profile/cmiller http://www.balance-unbalance2015.org/

Pablo Suarez

Annea Lockwood photograph by Nicole Tavenner.

– On the Edge: Water, Immigration, and politics in the Southwest (Trinity University Press, 2013) http:// tupress.org/books/on-the-edge which addresses the shrinking water resources, water struggles and water debates in the Southwest of the United States.

Annea Lockwood (Keynote Speaker)

PABLO SUAREZ (Keynote Speaker)

Born in New Zealand and living in the US since 1973, Annea Lockwood is known for her explorations of the rich world of natural acoustic sounds and environments, in works ranging from sound art and installations and performance art to concert music. Her music has been performed in many venues and festivals and extensively recorded. Wild Energy, in collaboration with Bob Bielecki - a site-specific installation based largely on geophysical and atmospheric infra and ultra sound, was presented in the Caramoor Festival’s exhibition, In The Garden of Sonic Delights in 2014 and one of her three sound maps of rivers, A Sound Map of the Housatonic River is currently running at Apex Art, New York in the sound art show Foot Notes: On the Sensations of Tone. She is an emerita professor of Vassar College where she taught for many years.

Pablo Suarez is the Associate Director for Research and Innovation at the Red Cross Red Crescent Climate Centre, as well as visiting fellow at Boston University, research scholar at the International Institute for Applied Systems Analysis (IIASA) in Austria, and faculty member at University of Lugano (Switzerland) and University College London (UK). He has consulted for the UN Development Programme, the World Food Programme, the World Bank, Oxfam America, and about twenty other international humanitarian and development organizations, working in more than 50 countries. His current work addresses institutional integration across disciplines and geographic scales, and the use of innovative tools for climate risk management – including the design and facilitation of games and artistic experimental performances for learning and dialogue. Pablo holds a water engineering degree, a master’s in planning, and a Ph.D. in geography. His presentation is titled: How can Art and the Red Cross work together to save lives, mobilize and inspire? Global experiences on climate risk management. the water issue

HOT WATER – WATER, PEACE & WAR BY SUZON FUKS ON BEHALF OF THE WATERWHEEL TEAM

Celebrating its third year and with a revamp underway, Waterwheel invites artists, scientists, activists, teachers and young people to contribute digital postcards, poems or texts on the theme of “HOT WATER - Water, Peace & War”. The English expression “To be in HOT WATER” means to be in trouble. Currently, climate change, environmental decline, rights violations, volatile politics and conflict all suggest “HOT WATER”.

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Water is a fundamental element for all beings on Earth. A symbol of life and a “common good” which should be available to all, water is quickly becoming a commodity to some, and often taken as hostage in conflicts to besiege and displace populations. Corporates, governments, and industries such as mining and tourism use it for their own short-term benefits, depriving people – especially Indigenous people and farmers – of their rights, causing pollution, threatening health and the environment, and compromising long-term water management. This call asks contributors to consider: How can art, science, design, and activism reinstate the social, cultural and environmental value of water? How can we share the responsibility of water in a positive way? How can we all preserve the right of access to water? How can intergenerational knowledge-sharing get us out of “HOT WATER”, end conflict and find peace?

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This panel will be part of The Balance-Unbalance 2015 Conference, hosted by Arizona State University, USA, March 27-29, 2015.

A panel of special guests will discuss selected contributions, and respond to an online audience, live on the Tap, Waterwheel’s video-conferencing and media-mixing system.

The deadline for submissions to “HOT WATER - Water, Peace & War” is March 9, 2015. Accepted formats are video, images, animation, audio, text or slideshows – formatting requirements can be found at: http://bit.ly/WW-pdf-En Contributions uploaded onto the NEW Waterwheel website by March 9, with the keyword HOT2015, will go into the draw to win a music CD. The panel guests, URL and time will be announced closer to the date in the Waterwheel newsletter, blog, twitter and Facebook group, which can all be found on the Waterwheel homepage, www.water-wheel.net Waterwheel is an online platform dedicated to the awareness, celebration, care and accessibility of water everywhere. Over 3000 media items have been uploaded, which are available for shared use in the site’s integrated video-conferencing and media mixing system, the Tap. Members use the Tap for meetings, presentations, performances, creative collaboration and conferences. The largest event to date has been the week-long Waterwheel World Water Day Symposium 2014 with over 450 presenters from 81 locations in 34 countries. Waterwheel was initiated by Suzon Fuks and co-founded with Inkahoots and Igneous.

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FLUIDATA: AN INTERMEDIA EXPLORATION OF QUEENSLAND CREEKS INCORPORATING WATERWHEEL BY JAMES CUNNINGHAM AND SUZON FUKS, IGNEOUS

Igneous has been involved with the Waterwheel platform since its inception as co-founder and co-producer. Created in 2011, Waterwheel facilitates a global network of artists, scientists, activists and interested individuals to share skills and knowledge for raising awareness and finding solutions for water worldwide.

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Connecting to this global network led Igneousâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; key artists Suzon Fuks and James Cunningham to explore waterways locally, and to embark on a multiple-stage project called FLUIDATA.

James Cunningham walking Queensland creeks. Photo by Suzon Fuks.

From February to May 2014, Fuks and Cunningham conducted durational walking-based performances transporting digital recording devices down creeks both flowing and dry, in over two-dozen diverse locations throughout the state of Queensland, Australia. Public workshops were held in five of the locations, introducing participants to Igneous’ artistic processes and to Waterwheel. In June 2015, an immersive installation at Queensland University of Technology will provide public attendees interactivity and experiential processes. With input from Inkahoots, the designer-programmers behind Waterwheel, Igneous aims to present an aesthetic response to Queensland waterways, through time-lapse video, photography, GPS and water-sample data visualization, interviews and an original soundscape. It will include live online streaming events linking the lead artists, in Brisbane, with participants in regional Queensland, and online audiences around the world.

Incorporated in the work are recordings of locals in remote places recounting extremes of drought and flood, which are considered normal, especially by Indigenous people, despite the catastrophising by politicians to leverage funds. In their travels, Fuks and Cunningham also heard concerns regarding the fracking by CSG extraction and its attack on huge aquifers. The FLUIDATA team will also make a virtual presentation on the project at Balance Unbalance 2015, via the Tap at http://water-wheel.net/taps/view/783 Speaking on their walking practice the artists say, “Our performative walking practice draws awareness to our embodied connection with our environment and processes existing in the present moment and place – invigorating a sense of wonder (and also wondering) in what exists, even in our own backyards.” This project has received financial assistance from the Queensland Government through Arts Queensland.

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Damien O’Mara, Airport, 2013, 150cm x 55cm, Inkjet print on photorag

TAKE ME TO THE RIVER

Damien O’Mara, River Suit 1, 2014, 150 x 65cms, Inkjet print on photorag

DAMIEN O’MARA’S AWARDED RIVER SUIT SERIES WAS PARTLY INSPIRED BY THE FLOODING OF BRISBANE CITY IN 2011.

Damien O’Mara’s awarded River Suit series is strong, captivating and refreshing. The recurring figure of a corporate business man photographed, seemingly unaware, in varying, out-of-context, natural settings, intrigues the viewer with the ambiguous, voyeuristic moment afforded by the prescribed scene.

The natural environment by contrast symbolises those aspects of existence that are beyond our own value systems. The framing of a, by scale, small, suited figure within a large natural environment is intended to suggest a perspective where conformance to manufactured value systems seems absurd”.

The great Australian outdoors, long feted for its shifting balance between beauty and danger, the lush and the barren, forms a strong basis for the work’s questioning of how a suited corporate culture might interplay with the environment, drawing out purposely jarring results.

The location was the man-made Hinze Dam in the south-east Queensland region of Australia, a place of relevance to the artist, where he once paddled canoes and which forms the water source for the glitzy Gold Coast. Damien O’Mara explains, “The trees in the image were once on dry land but the damming of the river forced them below the water line. Poignant is the realisation that even in this magnificent natural environment we are still surrounded by human intervention. It may explain why the figure, despite having reached a world so far from corporate life, still strains against the environment. Even in a place so natural, he can’t seem to escape human constructions”.

The mystique engendered by incorporating a traditionally strong icon of young, suited male wading with briefcase in-hand through waist high water to an unknown destination begs the question – where is he heading in these landscapes and even where are we going just watching him? According to the Artist, “The River Suit series was inspired by my own experience in rejecting corporate culture. The image suggests a narrative wherein the figure has fled the corporate world, yet having surrounded himself with nature, the figure continues to struggle forward, apparently discontent in this alternative environment…

Evocative of a still taken from a film scene, the work hints at the artist’s film school origins, (O’Mara has documentary experience along with video and projection (such as the two video pieces shown at the Swell Sculpture Festival). With photography a later

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Damien O’Mara, River Suit 2, 2014, 60 x 150 cm, Inkjet print on photorag.

COVER STORY CONTINUED

For this particular River Suit series, O’Mara was inspired by the recurrence of media images in the Brisbane floods of 2011. An abundance of press images of city corporates in highly inappropriate attire for fleeing a life-threatening natural event presented the absurdity of such clothing and codes of corporate behaviour outside of that culture; this, O’Mara has interpreted into a suggested sense of inadequacy and contemplation for his photographed corporate subject’s interactions with nature.

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All finalists’ artworks from the Clayton Utz Art Award are available for purchase and will be on display at Clayton Utz’s Brisbane offices in Riparian Plaza until September 25, 2015. The Clayton Utz Art Award (previously the LAUNCH Art Award) is open to Queensland-based artists or artists with a strong connection to the state. Clayton Utz acknowledges and thank Lethbridge Gallery for its continued support in co-ordinating and managing the Award. www.brettlethbridge.com www.claytonutzartaward.com.au Exhibition viewing by appointment only, through arrangement by emailing: gallery@lethbridgegallery.com

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development to the film studies, O’Mara has shown three such series in Melbourne, Brisbane and the UK.

Damien O’Mara, River Suit 2, 2014, 60 x 150 cm, Inkjet print on photorag.

O’Mara’s work has been drawing international praise with his Airport, 2013 taking out the Aesthetica Prize in the UK. His River Suit 5 received a high commendation in the Clayton Utz Art Award in Australia in 2014, from 43 finalists selected out of over 200 entries. Award judge and 2013 Clayton Utz [LAUNCH] Art Award winner, Sebastian Di Mauro, described River Suit 5 as a “beautiful and enigmatic image, which is poetic and metaphoric”.

of documented and constructed components within the image frame. As with the prescribed images of the River Suit series O’Mara states, “At no point will the viewer believe the scenario has played out without the photographer’s input. The documented detail comes in the form of the natural environment.” www.damienomara.com

Enrolled in a Master of Arts in Visual Arts at the Queensland College of Arts in Brisbane, O’Mara’s postgraduate studies are specifically focussing on the capacity for photography to balance a combination

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NO MAN IS AN ISLAND MICHAEL LEGGE-WILKINSON –INTERVIEW WITH EARTH E-MAG, NOVEMBER 2014 NO MAN IS AN ISLAND ENTIRE OF ITSELF; EVERY MAN IS A PIECE OF THE CONTINENT, A PART OF THE MAIN… and so run the famous lines from Meditation XVII by the English poet John Donne, (in reference to Europe). We find the same on the Continent of Australia with artist, activist, environmental engineer, Michael LeggeWilkinson who has travelled the islands and shores of his homeland through his partner’s and own work commitments, finding opportunity and making space for his experiential arts practise. While Donne had his devotions, Legge-Wilkinson engages in daily meditation and yoga to achieve the ebb and flow required for a treasured work-art-life balance. Happily occupying several studios over time, Michael Legge-Wilkinson is highly adaptable, philosophical and passionate regarding his artistic direction: ‘Life is art. I go further to say life is a meditation. Meditation is about being present, living in the moment. I have been practicing yoga and meditation since I was at University in my early twenties and everything I do flows from this practice. I call my morning yoga and meditation practice a “board meeting with my higher self”.

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TOP RIGHT: Lagoon Studio, Lord Howe Island (2009/10) MIDDLE RIGHT: Hunter River Kimberley BOTTOM RIGHT: Michael Legge-Wilkinson, Natural Jetty, oil on linen, 72 x 36 inches, Private Collection, Perth, WA

Michael in his Wadjemup Hill Studio

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The stunning sights from his Lagoon Studio on Lord Howe Island, saturated in tropical colour make for contemplation and ease where he rolled studio and en plein air painting into a single process which has resulted in not only large scale canvases but tourism interpretive signage.

I’m always happy to donate images for conservation purposes and select images from my Lord Howe Island portfolio feature in advertising, signage and reports on the Island and its marine park. It’s a very, very small way to give back to the communities and environments we are blessed to experience. Michael Legge-Wilkinson September 21, 2013. FB Post.

Engineering an art career Michael’s dual career has required balancing over the years as he explains, “After some deliberation in high school, I chose engineering over art school and studied Mechanical Engineering at the University of Newcastle where I indulged my art by illustrating for the University magazine, life drawing (and working as a life model); also painting a portrait of the much loved Professor Godfrey Tanner which now hangs in the Tanner Bar at the University of Newcastle)”. After University Michael worked full-time as an environmental professional (Surfrider Foundation HIAB Research Project 1995/96) and painting part-time. He then focused on art full-time for a year (1997), returning to

work as an environmental consultant on the Gold Coast (1998 to 2000) where he held his first exhibitions in 1998. Then 2000-2012 brought a full time focus on art followed by a return to engineering in 2012 working as an environmental advisor on major marine construction projects. In the next, imminent phase of Michael’s engineering career, he is looking to commence as a co-creator of sustainable communities and subdivisions with enhanced water management facilities, energy efficient building design and micro energy grids utilising renewable sources of energy. “Like most people, environmental conservation, stewardship, human rights and equity are important to me and I like to contribute in whatever way I can through my life and work”. Michael Legge-Wilkinson, interview with eARTh e-mag, November 2014.

Surfrider projects Creating and managing the signature State of Our Surf (SOS) and Human Impact on Australian Beach (HIAB) Projects for Surfrider Foundation from December 1992 to 1996, Michael said a highlight was the HIAB press conference in 1996 at Bondi

TOP LEFT: Lord Howe Island Studio BOTTOM LEFT: Lord Howe Island Aerial used for interpretive sign, Signal Point, Lord Howe island, featuring the wedge-tailed shearwater, photographed by Ian Hutton, showing one of Michaels aerial photographs of the Island.

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Beach with the presence of Peter Garret and Coastcare attracting a huge media response. “Once we develop the databases, the concept of community based data collection can be easily adapted to other ecosystems ie. terrestrial. The benefits are enhanced knowledge and stewardship at the grass roots level by taking these projects online in the future”.

Sharing the Joy - seminars and workshops Over time, Michael has conceived and run seminars such as ‘In the Flow,’ “presenting tools and techniques for enhanced creativity as part of my Power of Paint National Tour in 2010/11. I commenced the Tour in Perth and got as far as Sydney when life and other priorities necessitated a break and focus elsewhere. I would like to continue the tour in another year or two and to take my work and seminars into small communities all around Australia. The tour really never has to end”. Michael further explains, “When we were living on Wadjemup, I was running art workshops in some of the WA Prisons including Bandyup which was the maximum security Women’s prison. These workshops gave the women the opportunity to paint and I shared my knowledge and technical skills. I would start each workshop with some stretches and breathing exercises”. With a clear plan for the future Michael shares his path - “My intent now is to start offering regular seminars, workshops and retreats focusing on creativity, painting techniques and the business side of being an artist in Australia today. Basically teaching everything I have learned through self-representation and a professional art career that began with my first exhibitions in 1998. it has been a 16-year apprenticeship and I feel have learnt so much that I want to start sharing the wisdom through workshops and seminars”. Michael Legge-Wilkinson, Detail: Marjorie Bay, Rottnest Island, oil on linen, 36 x 36 inches, Private Collection, Perth, Western Australia.

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Studio Life Michael’s connection to the Islands of Stradbroke, Lord Howe Island and Rottnest have been through Sallyann, his partner’s work as a marine ecologist. “We have lived on all three Islands and I have had dedicated studios on Wadjemup (Rottnest) and Lord Howe Island. We intend to move back to Point Lookout on Stradbroke Island and I am keen to set up a studio there”. In the background of the photo of Michael in his Wadjemup Hill Studio (see page 25 of this article) is a portrait, then in progress, of Australian writer, Tim Winton. In their first meeting, as described by Michael, “There was an almost instant connection through our shared love of surfing and the environment. Michael’s capacity for clarity and reflection around his arts practise, mirrors his waterscapes. Michael elaborates, “Balance in life is the key. I have a family now and they come first before both my professional environmental work and my art career. Currently my work as an

Rainbow Beach, Queensland, Australia with son Kai Oashi

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environmental advisor on major marine construction projects takes me away from my family and really compromises my studio time and commission work. For me, the challenge has always been to find the right balance… there is no perfect solution, but every single day starts with yoga and some quiet time.” Michael Legge-Wilkinson is taking commissions for 2018; current commitments include a portrait of Tenzin Gyatso, the 14th Dalai Lama for the Tibet Museum in Dharamsala. http://michaelleggewilkinson.com.au/

Drinking from the Love Heart Rock Pool, April, 2014

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WORDS FOR WATER BY DR. TRACEY BENSON Words for water is an ongoing project that addresses the topic of water and our human connection to this life-giving element. It is seen as a collaborative project with many people contributing their words to the project. People are also invited to contribute video footage of water. The project explores a diversity of languages, including Indigenous Australian languages as a starting point to evoke a connection to water as the sustaining element of all life. Indigenous cultures have an acute understanding and connection to the relationship between body, environment (site) and identity and the project seeks to awaken this connection more broadly across cultures and practices.

So far the project has been presented in a number of exhibitions and events. In 2013, it was part of the ISMAR2013 (International Symposium on Mixed and Augmented Reality) Transreal Topologies exhibition at the Royal Institute of Science, Adelaide. The first stage was a series of aerial maps that activated AR and a video of the Murray River, tracing the journey of the river from source to the mouth.

Water makes up over 70 per cent of the human body, it is essential for sustaining life and has massive social and cultural significance. Water may seem ubiquitous, but it has some rather uncommon properties. At the atomic level, water can influence how life and landscapes are formed, such as how water moves through a plant and how rivers meander around bends. It is also the only chemical to be formed in three states – vapour, liquid and solid.

In October 2014, Stage II was exhibited at PhotoAccess in Canberra. This second stage of the project expanded the languages to over 60 different words for water plus new video footage of oceans and rivers in Australia, New Zealand, Turkey, France and Croatia. The exhibition comprised of a large TV screen of the video and some small light boxes that also generated video by using an AR feature.

The project uses a range of mixed reality media approaches – the use of augmented media to ‘trigger’ sound and video, the development of a smart phone/tablet app, gallery and installation based exhibitions and a projection work that bring together this project in a filmic, linear narrative.

Words for Water also featured as part of The Satellites: art spinning around Kochi event in Kochi, a fringe event running at the same time as the Kochi-Muziris Biennale 2014. The Satellites: art spinning around Kochi provided a collective voice and guide to the many cultural events happening around Kochi during the first weeks of the Kochi-Muziris Biennale 2014.

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TOP LEFT: Video still from Words for water: Stage II © Tracey Benson 2014 BOTTOM LEFT: Words for water Stage II, PhotoAccess Gallery © Garry Benson 2014 BOTTOM RIGHT: Words for water Stage II, PhotoAccess Gallery © Garry Benson 2014

The next stage of Words for Water was presented as part of the SCANZ2015 exhibition in New Plymouth, Aotearoa New Zealand in January 2015. Stage I and Stage II of the video also feature audio by sound artist VUDUKHILD. If you would like to contribute to the project with some more video or words please contact me. Tracey Benson: http://traceybenson.com/2014/08/12/words-for-water/

– Mobile Media Practices, Presence and Politics Edited by Kathleen M. Cuminskey & Larissa Hjorth, June 2013

Dr. Tracey M Benson is Adjunct Postdoctoral Fellow, The Australian National University, School of Music | Online Strategy and Analysis || Information Exchange, Energy Division, Dept of Industry | Treasurer/Secretary || Intercreate || www.intercreate.org

SCANZ2015 - WATER*PEACE

Recent exhibitions/publications include: – Finding Ghosts, Canberra Contemporary Art Space, December 2014 – Words for Water: Local Ripples, Photoaccess October 2014 – Cultural Strangers, Joint Exhibition with Martin Drury, Turkish Embassy Canberra, October 2014 – Walking Backwards into the Future, Cultura 21, Copenhagen, September 2014 – Finding the Ghosts of K Road, ADA Mesh Cities, Auckland September 2014 – Speaker: KM Australia 2014, July 2014

– Locating Emerging Media Edited by Ben Aslinger and Germaine Halegoua, January 2014 – SCANZ 2015: Water*Peace http://www.intercreate.org/2013/09/water-peace-call/

The theme for this SCANZ (Solar Circuit Aotearoa New Zealand) residency and symposium is Water*Peace. As with earlier SCANZ events, there is a strong focus on connecting artists, scientists, activists and Indigenous peoples on themes of environmental sustainability, as well as linking these concerns with the topic of water and peace. At the time of writing this article there is still five weeks until the start of the residency, which will open with an overnight stay at the Parihaka marae. This community has a significant story of self determination and peaceful resistance before Mahatma Gandhi’s time. They were leaders during an infamous episode of New Zealand’s history, and Parihaka is today world renowned for the stance on peaceful protest in the face armed constabulary. It will be an immense privilege to be able to stay at the Marae and to spend time with the Parahaki people and for many of the resident artists, a unique insight into Maori culture and people.

– Waterwheel World Water Day Symposium 2014

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Uncle Major Sumner on the Coorong, Ali Sanderson and Ben Pederick.

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Research Initiative for Art) in the Art and Design school of the University of New South Wales will also be participating. Other Australian artists include Kate Richards and Lisa Anderson. The Australian contingent is just a small part of this international event with artists from Europe, Canada, Pacific Islands and of course, Aotearoa. My first experience of SCANZ was in 2013, where I participated as an artist in the residency also presenting my work in Puke Ariki Museum gallery and at the WITT school. The theme for SCANZ2013 3rd Nature was â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;integrated systemsâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; and focused on three key intersecting topics: acknowledging the environmental crisis; engaging with Maori and Indigenous peoples; and engaging with Sciences and the Hybrid Arts. It was a powerful experience on so many levels, challenging me creatively, emotionally, mentally and spiritually. To be able to work with artists and thinkers from so many disciplines driven by similar concerns was profound. Salmon Full Mesh figure by Claire Brunet, part of the project by Claire Brunet, Susan Fryberg and Toby Richards.

SCANZ2015 will present a number of significant projects and artists working on the theme of water and peace, with some notables coming from Australia. For example, Ali Sanderson and Ben Penderick, the creative team from Ringbalin will be presenting their project and meeting with local pahake (elders) to learn about their water stories. Allan Giddy, the director of ERIA (The Environmental

After the event, I continued my conversations with Intercreate (the organisation that pulls together SCANZ), formalising my association with the organisation, first becoming a Trustee, and, at the last AGM, I was voted in as the Secretary/Treasurer. I believe that events like SCANZ and organisations like Intercreate are visionary, offering a way to challenge ourselves and our community, whilst planting seeds of hope for the future. Dr Tracey Benson www.traceybenson.com Please note: this article was written in anticipation of the SCANZ January 2015 conference which by the time of eARTh e-mag upload would have been completed but eARTh felt it important to highlight the event through the writings of Dr. Benson.

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THREADED WATERWAYS –

Jolanta Szymczyk, Photography Peter Duda, Stradbroke Island, Australia

TEXTILE JOURNEYS THROUGH POLAND BY JOLANTA SZYMCZYK

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FAR LEFT, OPPOSITE PAGE: detail of silk, eco-dyed with eucalyptus leaves. The markings resemble topographical maps and aerial views underpinning artistic connection with the landform and natural environment. Image courtesy of Jolanta Szymczyk. TOP LEFT: Aerial view of Lake Eyre. Image courtesy of Julie Maddocks. Editorial Jolanta Szymczyk TOP RIGHT: Water flow inspired nuno felted dress by Jolanta Szymczyk. Image courtesy of Nicholas Goodridge. BOTTOM LEFT: Textile surface design inspired by tropical North Queensland, Australia. Image courtesy of Jolanta Szymczyk.

From salt mines to coastlines, Jolanta Szymczyk travels the reader through one of her textile tours to her Polish homeland, referencing the water channels and coastal fringes which also inspire the artist in her country of residence, Australia. Here Jolanta takes us on that journey, in her words. I am staring at my feet… gentle sounds of waves fill my headspace as I stand on the edge of the massive landform that is the Australian continent… a unique formation that shapes, changes and constantly challenges my own perspective on light, colour and nature inspired patterns and textures. A place, where natural forces play to full extent while taking your breath away with its rough beauty. Over the years, this spectacular land has imposed its mark on my own practice. From the colours so abundantly occurring in natural designs, patterns and textural surfaces, providing a rich cultural heritage inspiring my work to reflecting on and connecting with the environment around me. As I leave Australia behind, I take these experiences on a flight to my homeland of Poland. This time I am focusing on my homeland’s culture, its people’s unique, artisan skills, developed over the centuries while harnessing and managing the land, its seasons and natural cycles. I am exploring its long textile and artisan traditions that are so closely aligned with the land, rituals and cultural celebrations. I am starting my journey at the banks of Wisla River in Krakow. The river represents lifeblood, a source of trade and cultural expansion and growth not only in the city alone, a well-known cultural and artisan hub of Poland and Europe, but through the entire country.

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The Wisla River, the Queen of Polish Rivers, starts its life from the southern mountains, the home of Koniakow’s Laces. This ethereal art is protected as a UNESCO world cultural heritage, attracting the attention of textile collectors around the world. As the river stretches peacefully over Mazovia Region, we arrive in Warszawa, the country’s capital. Our destination is to see the textile treasures of the unique Jacquard Factory’s designs, fit for nobles, kings and royals and more recently for various media productions, international visitors and diplomats. The products and designs do not disappoint the textile connoisseur. A short drive to Lodz, and we step into the oldest and biggest world international exhibitioncompetition promoting contemporary ‘fibre arts’. This place stretches and confronts an artisan’s perceptions, imagination and creativity, an experience not to be missed when enriching one’s own creative practice. As the river transports us to its ultimate destination, the Baltic Sea, we arrive in Tri Cities of Gdansk, Gdynia and Sopot, concluding our textiles filled journey through this part of Poland as the most geographically diversified countryside in Europe. The coast showcases its final artisan treasure, amber deposits. This humble pine tree soap resin is a source of everlasting inspiration, natural beauty and health remedies. Its natural and aesthetic qualities see it snapped up by the visitors to the country and forms a hands on part of the textile tour experience linked to Polish folk and textile traditions, including working with natural linen and amber to create your own accessories. Tours are available during the European spring and autumn with details to be found at www.experiencepoland.net

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TOP LEFT: Krakow’s Wawel Castle along Wisla (Vistula) River banks. Image courtesy of Pawel Krzan MIDDLE: Mazovia Willows. Image supplied by the artist. “Mazovia is known for its melancholic, almost flat landscapes broken by the strong shape of the willows. Every year they are severely trimmed to enhance their bulkiness at the top. I found them stunning and you can feel their presence in Chopin’s music with the landscape strongly resonating in the rhythm of his compositions” – Jolanta BOTTOM: Lodz Central Textile Museum. Image courtesy of the Museum and Lech Andrzejewski

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Gdanskâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s famous crane over the river. Image supplied by Jolanta Szymczyk

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About Jolanta Szymczyk A native of Poland, award winning textile artist and President of the Australian Textile Surface Design Association (Queensland) Jolanta Szymczyk offers a truly unique, artisan focused travelling experience in her textile tours. With a background in engineering and geographical information systems, accompanied by visual art, Jolanta brings a once in a lifetime experience to anyone with a passion for creativity. Jolanta also welcomes invitations to teach and facilitate workshops and provide creative networking opportunities. For information on Jolantaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s art practice visit www.jstudio88.net Workshops can be attended either in the Studio 88, Bellbird Park, South East Queensland or at a preferred location. The 2015 workshop program is available on http://www.jstudio88.net. The Studio 88 welcomes anyone interested in felting, dyeing and various textile surface design techniques to unleash their creativity; workshops are suitable for all skills levels and aim to empower attendees to create a healthier and rewarding lifestyle filled with natural fibre objects, garments and accessories. Enquiries and bookings via studio88@optusnet.com.au

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Amber in detail. Image supplied by Jolanta Szymczyk

Christian Spencer, Lake Titicaca, acrylic on canvas 130 cm x 100 cm. This painting is inspired by visiting Ilha do Sol in Bolivia and the wonderful colours, the people and the land.

BEYOND THE MIST CHRISTIAN SPENCER BY SANDRA CONTE

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Christian Spencer, Mangroves, acrylic on canvas 140 cm x 100 cm. A painting inspired by the mangrove swamps on the coast of Brazil.

For 14 years artist Christian Spencer has painted in his Brazilian studio residence, set in Itataiia National park, with wife and fellow artist Tatiana Clauzet. Spencer explains the prolific nature of his work, “Here I have done about 40 solo exhibitions but my dream would be to eventually return to live in Australia for a period of time but as a professional artist Australia it is very expensive to live; still it will be nice to make the bridge back home and there is time as I am only 38!”

Christian Spencer recently did return to his native Australia to travel for six months through 27 national parks, gaining inspiration for developing a new series of paintings. He discovered that after painting Brasil for such a long time and really learning how to paint there, it was an amazing experience to be painting Australia, stating, “The next work of mine will be red tailed Cockatoos, wedge tails, tea tree forests and the Strezlecki Desert”.

Christian Spencer, Reflections of Mulungu, acrylic on canvas 240 cm x 100 cm. The painting was inspired by flowers of the Mulungu or flame tree landing on a small pond in the rainforest of Brazil, creating a reflection of many dimensions with the forest in the depths.

Christian Spencer, Spirits of the sea, acrylic on canvas 240 cm x 100 cm. The process for this painting was a search for patterns in the reflections of a calm ocean in Brazil. Life makes patterns out of patternless disorder.

eARTh came across Christian Spencer via a facebook photo competition of the Ecological Society of Australia where he won the overall best photo and also had an image of a kangaroo bounding across the top of long stretch of water. eARTh e-mag registered a ‘LIKE’ and Christian courteously contacted the e-mag; from this, eARTh discovered it is not his photography, moving image or film work (one presentation of which constitutes a multiplicity of paintings within 23 minutes holding purely image and sound as “a completely artistic vision of nature”) but acrylic painting that Christian wishes to share with the world.

Selecting a handful of his glorious water works, the artist explains how nature has inspired and sustained him over a decade and a half, revealing a world of waterfalls, reflections, mangroves, seasons of the sea and wetlands all revealed from beyond the mists of Brazil.

The Artist Christian Spencer was born in Melbourne, Australia, in 1977. He has been interested in nature and INDIGENOUS cultures since he can remember. Painting professionally in Adelaide from 1996, he relocated to work and paint on an isolated sheep station in the heart the water issue

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LEFT: Christian Spencer, The Hoop Nature Reserve, acrylic on canvas 140 x 100 cm. Painting inspired by visiting the wetlands of De Hoop Nature Reserve in South Africa near Cape Town.

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RIGHT: Christian Spencer, In the desert, in the dry, acrylic on canvas 150 x 100 cm. Inspired by the drought of the Flinders Ranges (South Australia), in a dry creek bed.

of the heart of the Flinders Ranges, South Australia. It was there that Christian Spencer developed his own style mixing Islamic geometry, meso American motifs and tribal art with the harsh beauty of the Australian Outback. In 2000, he moved to Brazil to live and work in the mountains in the south of Rio de Janeiro state, among the rich biodiversity of the Atlantic rainforest. The rich natural and cultural history of Brazil had an important part in the development of his painting style. Expressing the abstraction that he sees in nature which Christian explains as the “Invisible Orquestrated Cosmos”, he looks to capture “the Macro and Micro cosmos and its inter-relation”.

Travel Other travels have impacted positively such as three months in South Africa in 2009 and an Artist Residency in Cesky Krumlov, Czech Republic, in 2008 with a mix of “alchemist symbols, gothic architecture and the animals and striking beauty of Africa”.

Music In 2004 Christian started producing music in his home studio, creating his own unique sounds of dub, electronic and acoustic music mixed with sounds of the forest where he lives.

Film In 2006 he picked up his first video camera and made the Film “Itatiaia - A Look Inside” with Gibby Zobel, where he mixed visual images with his experimental music creating a journey through image and sound. The film went on to win two important prizes at international film festivals: Eko Filme, Chech Republic and 7th Mountain Film Festival, Rio de Janerio. In 2011 a new film was made called “The Dance of Time”. It took four years to film and edit. It was made in a creative and unique artistic language which bought recognition from film festivals around the world. The film won nine awards and was selected in more than 40 film festivals. In 2013 “CERRADO, Beyond the Mist”, made in partnership with Marc Egger and Gibby Zobel, was released, a new film which shows the unknown and endangered ecosystem of the Brazilian Cerrado; this has already won four awards in Brazil and throughout the world. “CERRADO BEYOND THE MIST” Best Film – Festival de Cinema Socioambiental da Serra do Cipó Brazil 2013 Grand Prix – Jahorina Film Festival of Ecologia Bosnia 2013 Special Prize – European Enviromental film festival Bulgaria 2013 Best Script – FATU – Festival Brasileiro de Filmes de Aventura e Turismo Paraty Brazil 2013 To find more on Christian Spencer go to: www.christianspencer.pro.br

FAR RIGHT: Christian Spencer, Pitu waterfall (detail), acrylic on canvas 140 x 100 cm. This painting was inspired by the waterfall close to my house in Itataiia National park, Brazil. The water in the winter turns an incredible green turquoise and reflects the rainforest in the slowly running water.

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REVERSE POLARITY DONNA MAREE ROBINSON BY DANIELLE HARVEY

Donna Maree Robinson, Reflect-Speglun (2014). Archival ink on fine art on HAHNEMĂ&#x153;HLE cotton paper. Courtesy of the artist.

Queensland multimedia artist explores human impact on Icelandic seascapes

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When we think of climate change, more often than not, our minds wander to the sea levels rising due to climbing temperatures. Whether or not you are an advocate for climate change, it is undeniable that human presence affects every inch of the earth’s surface. Our everyday actions manipulate the natural environment, as we replace it with artificial landscapes that contribute to the decline of natural environments and animal species. Queensland multimedia artist, Donna Maree Robinson, seeks to address the relationship of humanity and the environment to create awareness of our impact on the planet.

yet the striking beauty of the Icelandic surroundings keep them in awe. Robinson’s use of light and colour in this series enhance the otherwise invisible depth of each iceberg, highlighting the sheer size and form of these magnificent natural wonders as they suspend in the sea. Robinson’s use of layered textures in her work draws the viewer in. At the same time, Reverse Polarity creates a sense of isolation and “otherworldliness”, as if the scene could not possibly be from this earth. The feeling of isolation creates a mystical atmosphere, as if the images are conjured from a bizarre dream.

Robinson’s work explores the sublime in the natural environment by expressing its poetic capability. In her series Reverse Polarity (2014), she confronts the viewer with hauntingly beautiful images of Icelandic landscapes, which were created during an artist residency in Nes, Iceland. From her Icelandic art studio Robinson was surrounded by breathtaking scenery whilst escaping from bitter winter storms.

Yet, the breathtaking Icelandic scenery captured by Robinson in Reverse Polarity is real. Through this work she highlights serious environmental issues whilst conveying the complexities of experience in contemporary society where memories, dreams and sensations shape our reality. At the same time, Robinson represents the dynamic, ever-changing environment by evoking its fragility and temporality. http://donnamareerobinson. mackaycreatives.com.au/

Scenes of metallic blue and silver hues leave the viewer feeling cold and secluded,

About Danielle Danielle Harvey is an emerging curator and writer. She recently completed a Bachelor of Creative Arts (Visual Art) majoring in Arts Management at the University of Southern Queensland, Australia. eARTh is grateful for this her first contribution to the e-mag.

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Donna Maree Robinson, Solace - Sjálfsskoðun Hjartans (2014). Archival ink on fine art on HAHNEMÜHLE cotton paper. Courtesy of the artist.

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Donna Maree Robinson, Drift-Rek (2014). Archival ink on fine art on HAHNEMÜHLE cotton paper. Courtesy of the artist.

MAREE EDMISTON-PRIOR

There are artists who do art for art’s sake. I’m not one of those. The creations I’m interested in are borne from a need to communicate environmental issues. An introduction to the Land Art movement 10 years ago released the “inner protest” or “awareness raising” tool for me as both an artist and Natural Resource Projects Manager.

Maree Edmiston, return-visit to the Great Barrier Reef, Hastings Reef, Cairns, Queensland Australia, 2012 since retiring as a SCUBA instructor at Thursday Island in 1989.

ART OF THE DIVER

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LEFT: Flotilla, Norman Point, Tin Can Bay, a land art community participation project at the site of A PROPOSED MEGA MARINA AT TIN CAN BAY, AUSTRALIA. PHOTO SUPPLIED BY M. PRIOR. TOP RIGHT: Maree Prior, Waves for Townsville’s Strand Ephemera with a sea-level rise theme at a time before the topic had really reached the greater public’s attention. BOTTOM RIGHT: Tread Lightly, 2009, Artwork concept, design and photography by Maree Edmiston-Prior, at Rainbow Beach, Queensland Australia. Tread Lightly, a land art project at Rainbow Beach funded through Gympie Council - Arts Qld Regional Arts Development Fund (RADF). The project aim was to raise awareness about the exponential increase of 4WD vehicles along Rainbow and Teewah beaches, Qld, Aus., and the unquantified impact on beach ecology. The black sand for ‘Tread Lightly’ was sourced from the beach, unwanted sandmining spoil, sieved through salt shakers and a repetitive stencil used to create the tracks.

Caught between the two worlds of professional natural resource manager (NRM) for not-for-profit organisations and professional artsworker, art is the most effective means to present, discuss and promote environmental issues, while the NRM helps to provide solutions involving community participation. The two go hand-in-hand. The summer holidays of 1968 were spent snorkelling in ocean rock pools south of Sydney and to this day the passion for ‘salty immersion’ continues for me. I worry for our estuaries and oceans, a heaving huge ecosystem that is undergoing immeasurable impacts from humans, from plastics accumulation to chemical and biological change. The focus of my projects is about catchments and collaborations. All wetlands and waterways lead to the sea, and people really need to understand this connection. The best way to make that connection is through education and participation in both art and on-the-ground environmental projects.

About the Artist After completing a post-graduate degree in Integrated Coastal Zone Management in 2010, Maree has been working in Natural Resource Management (NRM) as art/environment project manager across projects such as Design for Place, Noosa, Sunshine Coast Environmental Film Festival, NICA Ecoflicks. Maree holds multiple roles as Cooloola Coastcare Projects Coordinator www.cooloolacoastcare.org.au and is the Burnett-Mary Representative for Qld Water and Land Carers (QWaLC) and Noosa River Seagrass Monitoring Project Officer, Noosa Integrated Catchment Association Inc. (NICA). http://www.qwalc.org.au

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COMMUNING WITH THE SEA

Margarita Sampson, Anemone Incursion II ‘Zsa-Zsa’, Photos John McRae

MARGARITA SAMPSON BY SANDRA CONTE

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10 years resident on Norfolk Island followed by a relocation to Sydney, Australia, has geographically positioned artist Margarita Sampson for a continuous communing with the sea and its lifeforms. Her oeuvre reflects, strongly, the influence of the ocean and environment, making Margarita a natural choice for inclusion in multiple iterations of ‘Sculpture by the Sea’, the most recent being in 2014 (1).

Sampson has a string of plaudits to her name, ranging from nature-based category prizes such as The Waterhouse Natural Science Art Prize at the South Australian Museum and as a finalist in the 2013 Wynne Prize, Art Gallery of New South Wales (2). Her work remains striking, In my work, allusions to multiple forms curious and seductive, so much so that her are drawn but not cemented: for me the work Anemone Incursion II ‘Zsa-Zsa’ was singularly championed on the magnificent power of the work comes from a rich soup poster for winning the Sculpture and Objects of inferences which the viewer provides category at the 10th Annual Waterhouse from their own experience. Natural History Art Prize 2012. That same year, another in the series, Anemone Margarita Sampson, 2014 Incursions III, referred to by the artist as ‘Klaus’, was a finalist in the Gold Coast Art Prize Gold Coast Art Prize 2012.

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By sampling Sampson’s work, ranging from the early, oversized Urchins of Sculpture by the Sea 1997, through to the personality-plus Infectious series, a whole new world of ‘seeing the sea’ bursts open to the viewer. A leap from the 1997 Urchins to the most recent series continues in the larger-than-life scale. the water issue

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In the ‘Infectious Desires’ series an imaginary literary salon is overrun by soft textile growths: chair forms warp and stagger, mutate and support colonies, a coral reef crawls over a broken love-seat. In this series, the invented dichotomies are brought into collision – the chaotic, organic, changeable, exterior ‘other’ comes to bear upon the ordered, the known, the interior, the safe… The works invoke glamour, luxury and seduction with a disconcerting smack of the uncanny.

Margarita Sampson by John McCrae

Margarita Sampson, Anemone Incursion III ‘Klaus’, Photos John McRae

Margarita Sampson, 2014

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The found-furniture of the Infectious Desires series is sawn and altered, re-carved and gilded before being overlaid with textile ‘landscapes’. In fact, all Sampson’s works are meticulously hand-made by the artist, comprising of hand and machine sewn textiles. Sampson’s signature work is clearly not about simply being by the sea, it leaves an indelible statement – I see the paradigm that humans are presently living under as being unsustainable, the way we have managed over time to insulate ourselves from ‘the outside’… as if there is such a thing! There’s no ‘nature’ vs ‘us’! Until we properly understand that we’ll continue to treat everything around us as a resource, as something which can be exploited. The world is ourselves.

(1) Sampson has a long relationship with Sculpture by the Sea having been represented in the annual event from 1997 – 2001 inclusive; Margarita took out the People’s Choice Prize in 1998 and the ‘Andrew Stretton Memorial Prize’ in 2011 as well as being Guest Artist – Sculpture by the Sea, Cottesloe, in 2012. (2) Margarita Sampson’s Anemone Incursions III – ‘Puss Puss’ was a Wynne Prize finalist. The prize is awarded annually for the best landscape painting of Australian scenery in oils or watercolours or for the best example of figure sculpture by Australian artists with the annual exhibition displayed at the Art Gallery of New South Wales, Australia. http://www.margaritasampson.com/ Quotes from Margarita Sampson were supplied in an Artist’s Statement to eARTh e-mag, December 2014.

Margarita Sampson’s ‘Florence’ from the Infectious Desires series, Photograph by John McRae

Margarita Sampson, 2014

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Margarita Sampson, Urchins, ‘Sculpture by the Sea’ Bondi 1997 Photograph by Clyde Yee. www.sculpturebythesea.com

THE OKAVANGO SPLASH

Richard Field

The Okavango Splash is a signature image, taken whilst Rich was on safari with a family from the US in the Okavango Delta in northern Botswana. Here he provides the picture… It was October, and it was hot. I had planned for an afternoon of swimming and splashing in the pristine waters, where the kids could really go wild. The problem is finding the right spot, as the Okavango is full of hippos and crocodiles – not ideal swimming companions. So we hopped on a boat, and headed towards an area that I knew should be good. It is where one of the main rivers in the Okavango spills into a large lagoon, depositing large quantities of sand. The sand has a very low mineral content, and no aquatic vegetation grows in that spot. The water is shallow and absolutely crystal clear – there is nothing that lies beneath. The kids revelled in the wildness and incredible beauty. They became the crocodiles, stalking up on some nesting African Skimmers and other small shore birds. Eventually they found a deep section of our exclusive swimming pool, where they could dive, splash and do tricks. This photo was one of the last of the day. The sun was setting, and many wild things start moving as the darkness sets in. It was time to head back to camp.

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MARA MIGRATION WORDS AND PHOTOS BY RICHARD FIELD

We are privileged to have some African insight through the words and images of photographer and Safari Guide, Richard Field who points and shoots only with his camera. Here Richard explains how the wildebeest migration is driven by what lies beneath the ground.

Testing the waters

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Crossing the Mara Pre-crossing panic

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One of the major reasons the wildebeest migrate is because of the soil quality in different areas. They want to be down in the south of the Serengeti where recent volcanic deposits make the soils incredibly rich in minerals. The soils in the west are alluvial and still fairly rich, whilst the soils up in the north lie on ancient bedrock which has long since been leached of much of its mineral content. However, the only permanent water in the ecosystem is the Mara River in the north, so during the dry season that is where they have

to be. It is because of what lies beneath that they engage on a 500 km round trek back to the south for the rainy season (where they calve) and then up slightly to the western Serengeti once the rains stops (where they mate). Along the way they are dodging lions, crocodiles, hyenas etc. What lies beneath is clearly a major driving force, otherwise they would stay up in the northern Serengeti/Mara where there is ample graze and water.

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RIVER LISTENING River Listening is an interdisciplinary collaboration between Dr. Leah Barclay and the Australian Rivers Institute to explore the creative possibilities of aquatic bioacoustics and the potential for new approaches in the conservation of global river systems. The project involves listening labs, field recording, sound maps, performances and installations to experiment with virtual technologies and community engagement in understanding river health and aquaticÂ biodiversity. In our current state of environmental crisis, biodiversity assessment is critical to understanding the rapid ecological changes taking place across the globe. In the last ten years, there has been a strong emergence of non-invasive monitoring involving auditory recordings of the environment. This emerging field is commonly referred to as soundscape ecology and shares many parallels with other fields, including bioacoustics and acoustic ecology. These fields have an array of creative possibilities that have been deeply explored by practitioners including Bernie Krause, Ros Bandt and Garth Paine. There are now a growing number of international projects embracing auditory monitoring in aquatic environments. River Listening launched on the iconic River Thames in London during the 25th Anniversary of the EVA London Conference in June 2014. It has since developed across four Queensland river systems: the Brisbane River, the Mary River, the Noosa River and the Logan River. The initial phase of the project has involved listening labs, field recording, sound maps, performances and installations to experiment with hydrophonic recording, virtual technologies and community engagement in understanding river health. In the first six months the River Listening team have expanded the project internationally with partnerships formed across the Asia-Pacific and USA. Particular highlights include launching a new masterclass series with UNESCO, premiering the River Listening sound installation at the ASU Art Museum in the USA and launching the first version of a new interactive sound installation at the Mary River Festival in Queensland.

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THIS PAGE: Marilyn Connell and Toby Gifford listening to the Mary River OPPOSITE FROM TOP: Ly Sophanna listening to the Tonle Sap in Siem Reap, Cambodia, December 2014 River Listening Lab on the Logan River Tonle Sap in Siem Reap, Cambodia, December 2014 Photos Dr. Leah Barclay

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River Listening is directed by award winning Australian artist and researcher Dr. Leah Barclay, in collaboration with Dr. Simon Linke, one of the worlds leading freshwater conservation scientists, whose pioneering work in biomonitoring and river conservation planning has been used by agencies and NGOs from South East Queensland to theÂ Congo. In 2014, The Australian Rivers Institute and Dr. Leah Barclay were awarded a prestigious Synapse grant to support the development of River Listening. Synapse is an initiative of the Australia Council for the Arts and the Australia Network for Art and Technology (ANAT) that supports collaborations between artists and scientists in Australia. River Listening www.riverlistening.com Leah Barclay www.leahbarclay.com 2015 Synapse Residencies now open http://www.anat.org. au/2015-synapse-residencies-applications-now-open/ Dr Leah Barclay also holds positions as Virtual Conference Chair and on the Executive CommitteeÂ of Balance-Unbalance 2015 biennial global conference taking place in Arizona during March 2015.

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Vicki Sowry listening to the Mary River, Photo: Dr. Leah Barclay

2015 will see the launch of a customised River Listening digital platform and mobile applications for recording and listening to rivers across the world. The project team are also launching a touring exhibition which in mid-2015 will explore rivers as the lifeblood of communities and draw on ten years of collaborations with river systems across the world. As the international interest in the emerging auditory fields of bioacoustics and acoustic ecology continues to expand, there are clear opportunities to harness virtual technologies to develop accessible community engagement around the creative and scientific possibilities of listening to the environment. River Listening provides a model to develop a truly interdisciplinary approach at the critical stage of creative development and it is anticipated the future results will be beneficial to national ecosystem monitoring programs. This project is a catalyst for community engagement and interdisciplinary thinking at a time when the conservation and management of aquatic ecosystems is a critical priority. River Listening fundamentally explores the creative possibilities of aquatic bioacoustics and the potential for new approaches in the management and conservation of global river systems.

The Water’s Talking ~ Flood Language Joolie Gibbs Who would’ve thought that moving to Gympie, (a township in Queensland, Australia), 20 years ago would inspire me to concentrate on the landscape in my artwork, and in particular the flooded landscape? I have recently completed a Masters of Art in Visual Art from Queensland College of Art, where my project was based around ‘Flood Language’. I considered the debris caught on fences in the floods of 2011, 2012 and 2013.

I proposed that this debris may be a form of flood writing, or possibly a flood language. I see visual similarities of this flood language with urban graffiti in that just as graffiti is seen as a challenge to authority, and ownership, and makes a specific claim for spatial identity, so it is with flood language. Its copious “script or text” runs along the property lines in the area. Just as there is an urgency to remove graffiti by property owners and authorities, so this flood language is pulled apart as rapidly as possible by the same. The focus for my project is a specific fence line approximately 250m long, on Kidd Bridge, which crosses the Mary River. The debris on this fence line is a ‘sampler’ of the Mary River’s make-up – the local/regional

flora and fauna, good or bad land practices and its history. I used drawing as the main discipline, but have supported it with papermaking, printmaking, woven shapes and encaustic relying on mark making. One drawing is nine metres long, and Mary River flood mud features in most of them. I took the term Flood Language literally and wrote in handmade paper pulp, general flood words. One of the pieces refers to the Mary River catchment creeks that reached peak flood height in January 2013. Researching native (Lomandra) and introduced species (eg Banana) that grow on the banks of the Mary River, gives context to the materiality of the ‘language’. I also used actual debris, which was made up of both native and introduced fibres. Flood Language has been shown at Gatakers Artspace in Maryborough and Noosa Regional Gallery, both Queensland spaces, and will continue to grow for future exhibitions.

About the Artist Joolie Gibbs is an Australian artist living and working in Gympie, Queensland where she is influenced in her subject matter by the natural environment. The Mary River holds a particular personal link to her past, having been born in Maryborough and raised in Hervey Bay. Her current work draws on this inspiration through drawings, encaustic and handmade paper and sometimes other mediums. It is a reference to the climate change phenomenon and the increased change in environmental conditions, specifically the frequent floods endured in this part of the world. Joolie also sees and is inspired by art, daily, as Coordinator of the Gympie Regional Gallery, a role she has held for 17 years. In 2014, she completed her Masters of Art in Visual Art at Queensland College of Art, finally coming back to her own practice, which she intends doing more of.

CAPTIONS FROM LEFT: Joolie Gibbs, Talking With Mary 2, 2013, Handmade paper (lomandra, bladey grass and banana fibres), 80cm w 120cm h. Photo by Tony Webdale Assessment exhibition at Webb Gallery, QCA, June 2014. Photo by Joolie Gibbs Joolie Gibbs. Photo by Charmaine Lyons

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REVIEWS CONTINUED

WATER VIEWS Béatrice Prost in front of her work, Water Hole, Mixed media on canvas, 90x90cm, 2014

“Of Rocks & Pools” was the first solo exhibition by Béatrice Prost, held at the Gympie Regional Gallery, capturing the synergy between rock and water. Skilful in her diverse use of glassy ceramics, shellac and ink paintings as well as hand carved prints of Australian coastlines, Béatrice transported the visitor to a special place, where opposites meet. The artist describes it as “Like opening a bottle of perfume, I want the viewer to be moved to that state where energies linger. For me, this is a journey of discovery of that special limit, that edge between water and rocks, where the surface tension of those two elements binds”. Inspired by recent Australian sojourns to Tasmania and North Stradbroke Island as well as the exploration of her local Sunshine Coast region, Prost uses strong contrasts in each of her works, within the chosen mediums to symbolise the complementary

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CLOCKWISE FROM TOP LEFT: Béatrice Prost, Boulder, Stoneware ceramics, diameter 50 x 80cm, 2014 Béatrice Prost, ‘Of Rocks & Pools’ Gympie Regional Gallery exhibition installation, 2014 Béatrice Prost, Tattooed Rocks, Hand carved prints on cotton paper, thread, 1/1, 23 x 23cm, 2014 Béatrice Prost, Erosion, Ink Shellac on paper, 36 x 27cm, 2014

pairing of water and rocks; other pairs being Liquid/Solid; Soft/Hard; Ephemeral/ Lasting; Light/Dark; Reflective/Absorbent; Translucent /Opaque emerge through to abstraction in Prost’s works. Those opposites remain present throughout the whole process of her creative journey. Prost’s ceramic bowls present a unique matt, often altered external surface to represent the essence of a rock. By contrast, the inner part of the bowls furnish a plethora of shimmers due to the artist’s canny use of extremely fritted glassy, mostly copper and cobalt glazes, fired to melt, run and interact. At the two dimensional level during her painting process, inks were poured, sprayed on and moved in and around hardening shellac layers. As a result, this body of work releases the essence of water, the “content” which

could not be visualised and felt without the essence of the rock, the “container”. Prost explains, “The containers’ weaknesses are the reason the content exists. Those lines of force in the rocks outlined by erosion and worked out by the water energy itself are the very reason for that same water to be delayed, gathered and captive”. Of Rocks and Pools was borne from the meeting of two opposite, natural states forming a sense of sacred spaces as one cradled the other and gave it a transient life. Every hole, shell, shadow, shallow, highlight, reflection, refraction, trace of past or present energy flow is an invitation to wonder, giving space to ponder. Prost’s works showed at Gympie Regional Gallery in early 2015 and can be found on her website www.beatriceprost.com

Béatrice Prost, Fraser Waters, Mixed Media on Acid Free Board, 36x27cm, 2014

Woodford horizon with mushroom sculptures. Photo Erin Young.

THE WOODFORD WRAP Mushrooms & Umbrellas by Sandra Conte

Mushrooms and umbrellas went handin-hand with the Woodford Folk Festival weather of soothing showers which both calmed the dust and beat the heat. The oversized sculptures of mushrooms and purely decorative umbrellas were serendipitous by day while glowingly lit at night.

Each year, as part of the Woodford Wrap up in earth e-mag, we hear from a volunteer on an arts project. At the last iteration of Woodford Folk Festival, artist Corrie Wright wrote of her experience working on the Wang WenChih Woven Sky sculpture tunnel entrance which still stands on the approach to the Amphitheatre on the Woodfordia site. This year we were involved in the support of the grant application from the Moreton Bay Regional Council RADF grant round for a Woodford Folk Festival Environmental Artist Mentorship Project. We recommended Meg Geer as artist of choice to work with Kris Martin and team to produce

the glorious temporal Green art project consisting of out of this world, oversized temporal mushroom and umbrella sculptures which sprouted within the surrounds of the Woodford Folk Festival. The Mushrooms stood tall on the periphery of the Grande venue, the umbrellas peppered the sides and slopes of the billabong at the Village Green. Erin Long has provided photographic documentation of the process and we thank her for sharing her images here.

eARTh interviewed artist Meg Geer about the experience. E | How long did the project take? MG | It took ten days to make and install. E | Talk eARTh through the process for the giant mushrooms MG | The harvesting of the bamboo and piccabean comes first. The frames are then made from making bamboo ply and wiring together the circles and

arches to create the shape. Then the structure is reinforced with Cat’s Claw weed weaving. The mushrooms are then clad in piccabean. E | What about the umbrellas? MG | The umbrellas were a much more creative venture with each of the team being given creative control over their own umbrellas. Cat’s Claw and fabric and piccabean were used for these. The stalks for the umbrellas were quite hard work and took three to four people for each one to bend the bamboo into the right spots. They looked amazing lit up at the Village Green each night, I thought they worked really nicely. E | It seemed much of Woodford’s collaborative spirit was at play in the making? MG | Yes, the team worked really effectively together. I was the only one who hadn’t worked with Kris on a project before so the first day was spent learning the ropes. I very quickly the water issue

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got a handle on things though and then the general way it worked was that we partnered up and worked on a mushroom each. Most of the jobs required two pairs of hands to make it happen. It was lovely actually as we seemed to organically swap partners here and there so I got to know everyone on the team. I ended up being the umbrella-stalk wiz and have the blood blisters still to prove it! E| Would you recommend such an experience to other artists? MG | I thoroughly enjoyed my 10 days learning the weaving and bamboo structure process. It was utterly different from what I normally do. I work with such soft, forgiving fibres and the bamboo and cat’s claw were at the very other end of the spectrum. My hands had to toughen up quickly, not the lovely fluffy wool I’m used to that’s for sure! I will certainly use the techniques I learnt in future art projects. Bamboo is a great framer for sculptures and I now have the confidence to use it on my own. E | How do you think the experience positively impacted on your own arts practice? MG | The thing I gained most of all was confidence to go bigger with my sculptures. Somehow I am always so concerned that I’m not doing something ‘right’ in my arts processes but working on this project reminded me that it’s ok to do what works, there are no rules, and experimentation can lead to beautiful results. 66

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ABOUT KRIS MARTIN Lead Mentor and Artist of the Green Arts Project, Kris Martin, who is Queensland (Australia) based, has been creating sculptural artworks for over ten years and working in fibre arts for over twenty years. Kris specialises in Festival Installation Commissions, Community Arts Project and ‘Weaving with Weeds’ Workshops. His work focuses on using local sustainable materials as well as recognised weeds. His strong environmental and sustainable approach to his art has been acknowledged through two ‘Greening the Arts’ awards in 2011 (for ‘Kabi Canoes’) and 2012 (‘Ship of Fools’). Kris often collaborates with other sculptural, lighting and projection artists. He is a regular exhibitor in the Sunshine Coast’s ‘Floating Land’ Sculpture Festival, has been Artist In Residence as part of AFLOAT, a QLD community flood recovery program, exhibited in Bundaberg Regional Art Gallery and created site specific installations for Festivals throughout QLD such as, Woodford Folk Festival, Island Vibe (Stradbroke Island) and Mary River Festival.

A sample of the mushroom and umbrella installations also showed at the Bribie Island Community Arts Centre, Australia throughout January where artist Meg Geer’s other project, a solo exhibition entitled Moreton Spirit runs February 3-15 at the Matthew Flinders Gallery. RSVP meg@laetaloca.com Kris Martin and Meg Geer installing at Bribie, with the umbrella Meg created under his guidance during the Woodford project. Photograph Sandra Conte.

ABOVE: Kris Martin FROM LEFT: Kris Martin with umbrella sculptures; Artist Meg Geer communing with bamboo; Umbrella sculptures on the Village Green at Woodfordia; Photos by Erin Young.

https://www.youtube.com/ watch?v=zmc15VBcm3k

‘Great Lakes’ by John Smith who performed and workshopped at Woodford Folk Festival 2014/2015.

Another strong track is ‘This Killer Wave’ with lyrics such as, “he pulled me from the water and lay me on the shore. The lifeguard he revived me and still I wanted more…” https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N4hAf 7yEGPI&feature=youtu.be The lead song of ‘Great Lakes’, proclaims, …”Go to the water…..diving into the great lakes of love. I’m falling into the great lakes of love”. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_ YPu8KKorDY&feature=youtu.be

JOHN SMITH ~ ‘GREAT LAKES’ by Sandra Conte “John Smith Fellow Fine”, and so the folk song goes…. and fine is exactly as eARTh e-mag music reviewer, Jaia, found this musician to be at Woodford Folk Festival, from concert through to workshop and with the planned follow up ‘Woodford recovery’ of sorts at ‘The Junk Bar’, a cosy venue in the State’s capital of Brisbane. In his first Australian tour kicking off at Woodford Folk Festival, to Brisbane, Melbourne, Sydney and Tasmania, Australia couldn’t be happier with this exciting new voice hailing from the Devon folk scene.

John Smith has a swag of gigs under his belt, he’s now done Glastonbury, Green Man and a lot of the world. His first tour downunder starting with the Woodford Folk Festival signals a refreshing tune with works from his most recent album ‘Great Lakes’ (2013), many of the songs including the environment and referencing love. The video of ‘Salty and Sweet’ reveals a catch-of-the-day tune where you happily hum it incessantly to yourself over the course of a week; a story told through water-connected lyrics… “I am a fishing girl, just a lonely girl, the town in which I live is breaking water… Imagine my surprise a pair of ancient eyes… he came out of the sea, he said it hurts his skin, to touch the sand, he crawls back into the sea, the air is salty and sweet…”

… and yes, John Smith really is playing his guitar in the river as per the album cover proving, as you will hear with its unique ending, that the musician is at one with the water. www.johnsmithjohnsmith.com www.heartstopmusic.com/john-smith

There’s nothing like a sound-check to get intimate with an artist – ‘These Days’ by Jackson Brown was performed in full by John Smith at sound check before supporting David Gray, another of eARTh e-mag’s age-old faves, at the Greek Theatre, Los Angeles (03/09/14). This footage reveals John Smith’s voice quality and simple delivery to be clear and hypnotic. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0LrwZ8Ugab g&feature=youtu.be

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REVIEWS CONTINUED Malpa reflections

On the water performance

WOODFORD WATER, BY NIGHT from Mandi McIntyre

At Woodford, we use water in the festival precinct to create space, to draw us back to the earth, to cool and rest our eyes from a wonderland of colour and texture. By night, we use water to excite. To reflect light in all its luminescent forms, creating a playful dance between the earth, the lit trees and the starry sky. In its inky depths we offer a contemplative space. A deep cup of tea hosting good conversation, lapping at the sides until late in the evening. We use it to complement performance spaces, beaming our characters and enlarging their presence to the audience. The water draws the performers and musicians across the space to the audience – eliminating the distance between the two.

LEFT: From top – Malpa dance; Three minutes silence ceremony; Malpa, a spectacular performance of ancestral dances, traditional songs and sounds from far north Cape York, Australia performed at Woodford in 2013 by Prompuraaw and Injinoo clans.

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Many Moods – Music and mayhem [of Woodford] Each year when Woodford comes around eARTh e-mag hooks up with Michaél Beaty, a young photographer who juggles his passion between work, studies and travel. This year the Brief, according to the theme of the sixth edition of eARTh e-mag, was to capture water in its many forms along with the musical connections and even moments of mayhem at Woodford. Michaél rose to the challenge from photographing a sudden storm and downpour when impulsive behaviours kicked in; he also captured, with poignancy of musicians such as ‘We Two Thieves’, Archie Roach and street performing personalities. Thanks again Michaél, “same time next year?” and in the meantime we might convince him to get on board with the new venture of eARThYZine about youth culture and environment, currently in concept development thanks to a RADF grant as explained in the next section by Zandalee.

Photo essay of Woodford by Michaél Beaty

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eARThYZine Currently under concept development is eARThYZine a youth-culture environment zine for the Y and Z (ie. Millennial) generations. Since its inception, eARTh e-mag has been working alongside Zandalee, based in south east Queensland and projecting to the world to represent global artists/â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;inspiratorsâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; who are working at the intersect of art and environment; it has been a journey which has taken a natural step to this offshoot zine which may well take the format of a Tumblr blog (No paper wastage!). While Zandalee has been the social media butterfly for eARTh e-mag, advising on the who, why, when and how of promoting eARTh she has also been the voice of youth. Coming to us with overseas social media experience and as Young Adult Representative for the Hollywood Immersive program, including Music Immersive, she has brought genuine youth opinions and an international perspective on eARTh-Y-speak.

Zandalee of eARThYZine (at right) and Amy Nelson (at left) both enjoying the Woodford Folk Festival sunset, here in the Cloudland section of the Woodfordia camping grounds. Polaroid by Charlotte Mungomery, 2014. Photo of Polaroid by Zandalee.

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During the nearly two years and six issues of eARTh, many creative peeps from teens to 30 years have introduced us to their roles in environmental protection, preservation and causes, consciously capturing and communicating this through their art.

‘A stone’s throw’ from Woodford Folk Festival is Stony Creek, Bellthorpe National Park, Moreton Bay region where Zandalee and friends headed for a swim. Photo Zandalee.

While we have covered a sea of stories there is so much more out there to be presented. So where eARTh has taken a global road, eARThYZine will project south east Queensland to the world, handholding with eARTh e-mag and linking via the website to a Tumblr. There may be a subset of reciprocal stories between eARTh and eARThYZine and cross promotion but, on the whole, the difference will be that eARThYZine will provide regular bite-sized stories and updates to punctuate eARTh e-mag’s (currently) three editions per year. We are now entering the latter phase of the RADF (Regional Arts Development Fund) grant to finalise concept development of the zine.

We are grateful for the consultations and input to date and of course, welcome sponsors to assist for either of the goodwill productions of eARTh e-mag or eARThYZine in the interests of sustainability. As eARTh e-mag’s producer, I will be offsetting some of the costs and we are looking to set up several hot desks across the wider region. For now, we continue to breathe creative life into eARThYZine while helping the air that we breathe. We’ll hear more from Zandalee when eARThYZine gets to the launch pad. Contact editor@earth-emag.com for further information. The eARThYZine grant application 2014 was successful under the concept development category of RADF. The Regional Arts Development Fund is a Queensland Government and Moreton Bay Regional Council partnership to support local arts and culture.

BREAKAWAY to STONY CREEK To get to Stony Creek head north from Brisbane, Queensland to Caboolture then follow the D’Aguilar Highway west through Woodford and take the Stony Creek Road exit approximately 5 km out of Woodford. Follow the signs to Stony Creek day-use area. This is a great place to cool off in Bellthorpe National Park which lies at the southern end of the Conondale Range. There are Eucalypt forests, rainforest, waterfalls and cascades along picturesque Stony Creek. Zandalee mentioned, “It is best to go well prepared as mobile phone reception is not always reliable in this area; there are bush walks, horse riding and mountain biking activities that can be undertaken within this national park. No camping is permitted but camping at Woodfordia is only several kilometres away during the Woodford Folk Festival or The Planting”.

http://www.nprsr.qld.gov.au/parks/bellthorpe/

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The Planting

A Thousand Words

plant seed grow ideas w o o d f o r d i a

kuril dhagun, State Library of Queensland, until May 17, 2015 EXHIBITION The A Thousand Words exhibition features portraits by Indigenous female artists Cheryl Creed and Nickeema Williams. Visit the exhibition on level 1 of SLQ in your own time or come along to weekly tours to see A Thousand Words through the eyes of the curator and artists. Working in the contrasting mediums of paint and digital photography, Cheryl and Nickeema explore the vast diversity of individuals in their own and other Indigenous communities.

c o nc e rts d a nc e fi lm s c o m ed y t a l k s & fo rums w o r k s ho ps & d e m onstrations 5 - 7 JUNE 2015

yoga wa lk s c erem on y t ree p la n t i n gs c h i ldren ’ s f est i va l vi sua l a rt s p rogra m m e

theplantingfestival.com

TICKETS ON SALE IN APRIL 2015

State Librarian Janette Wright said the artists’ thought provoking works remind us that identity can be fleeting and highly subjective. “The subjects in Cheryl and Nickeema’s stunning portraits range from young to elderly, friends and family to community leaders, hailing from across the state in Brisbane, Cherbourg, Woorabinda, Cairns and beyond,” she said. “Yet each portrait is alike in that the subject is captured in a single moment in time, reflecting who they are and what they represent in that instant.”

Nickeema Williams, Connections 1, 2014, digital print.

Cheryl’s and Nickeema’s works convey pride in culture; connection to Country and the environment; the closeness of family and community; and an intimacy not often experienced in the wider community.

Cheryl believes her artwork can play a role in improving education in non-Indigenous communities and removing the negative stereotypes that surround Indigenous Australian communities today.

race, stereotypes, as well as personally finding her place as a young Indigenous woman in urbanised society. “My art is my life; it is an extension of my very being,” she said.

Each of the faces looking back at us in A Thousand Words prompts questions of ‘who are you?’, ‘where are you from?’ and ‘who’s your mob?’, illustrating the common saying ‘a picture speaks a thousand words’.

“Portraiture is a universal language that transcends most barriers, and reaches out to different audiences to tell the many and varied stories of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities, and describe the richness of our cultures and history,” she said.

For more information on the exhibition and tours go to: http://www.slq.qld.gov.au/whats-on/ calevents/kd/a-thousand-words

Both Cheryl and Nickeema work predominantly out of Cairns, using their art to change the circumstances of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples in Queensland.

http://www.slq.qld.gov.au/whats-on/ calevents/kd/a-thousand-footprints

Nickeema similarly uses her art to express culture and to address issues of identity, the water issue

WORKSHOPS The A Thousand Words exhibition program includes the A Thousand Fibres workshop series at State Library of Queensland. Join some of Queensland’s most exciting and talented Indigenous artists in kuril dhagun’s monthly workshop in this series for ages 15+. Pull up a cushion, pour a cuppa, and learn a new skill in the lush setting of the Talking Circle as the featured artist demonstrates a technique fundamental to their practice. Choose from a selection of upcycled materials when creating your own artisan object and relax, chat and let your creativity take control. Workshop materials sponsored by Reverse Garbage. Workshops sessions run once a month until May and can be found at http://www.slq.qld.gov.au/whats-on/ calevents/kd/a-thousand-fibres $22.50 AU for adults, bookings required.

Print making with Glennys Briggs Sat 7 Feb, 3–5pm

Portraits by Cheryl Creed and Nickeema Williams

Brooches with Sonja Carmichael Sat 7 Mar, 3–5pm

Jewellery with Delvene Cockatoo-Collins Sat 11 Apr, 3–5pm

Image (top) Cheryl Creed, Self Portrait (detail), 2014, acrylic on canvas. Image (bottom) Nickeema Williams, Self Portrait (detail), 2014, digital print.

6 Dec 2014 – 17 May 2015 Free exhibition kuril dhagun, level 1 State Library of Queensland Cultural Precinct, South Bank slq.qld.gov.au

queensland co-op

ltd

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Weaving with Chantal Cook Sat 9 May, 3–5pm

Symbiosis cool ceramics l warm textiles Inspired by the Great Barrier Reef, Symbiosis is a collaborative installation by ceramic artists, Lalune Croker and Joanne Wood and textile artist Tracey Robb. 6PM FRIDAY 6TH MARCH 2015 THE UPSTAIRS GALLERY, PAXTONS BUILDING RIVER STREET, MACKAY EXHIBITION DATES: 6 MARCH-31 MARCH 2015

The Regional Arts Development Fund is a Queensland Government and Moreton Bay Regional Council partnership to support local arts and culture.

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Wilderness Water Expeditions ‘Roaring 40s Kayaking’ offers expedition kayaking tours in Australia’s Tasmanian Wilderness World Heritage Area and day tours around the island capital of Hobart, exploring the stunning coastlines of cliffs, sandy beaches, caves and wildlife. According to co-manager Jenny Grundy, “We believe the Port Davey and Bathurst Harbour area in Tasmania’s Wilderness World Heritage Area is one of the best places for adventurous multi-day Sea Kayaking in Australia. Others agree, with Australian Geographic Outdoor Magazine (Jan/Feb 2010) naming it the most magnificent paddling destination in Australia and Lonely Planet recently naming it one of the ‘Top 10 Sea Kayaking destinations in the world’. The combination of a sheltered waterway and a rugged coast exposed to the Southern Ocean in a remote wilderness location is very special”. On these trips we also offer participants the opportunity to participate in the Green Guardians voluntourism (volunteer tourism) program. Our Green Guardian program has participants working alongside the Parks and Wildlife Service, Birdlife Tasmania and the Department’s Resource Management and Conservation Branch to identify threatened and vulnerable shorebird species. Migratory birds visit remote Bathurst Harbour and Port Davey after flying approximately 25,000km each year and include the red-necked stint, ruddy turnstone and sanderling.

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the Totem Pole (famed by rock climbers the world over), look out for the resident Australian fur seals and paddle alongside a semi-submerged shipwreck. On the Tinderbox paddle you explore the Tinderbox Marine Nature Reserve, beneath rugged lichen-covered cliffs and along beautiful beaches. You will enjoy a delicious picnic lunch on a sandy beach before continuing your paddle along the cliffs, watching for wildlife.

On the Hobart City paddle you explore Hobart’s iconic waterfront from a perspective few get to experience. We leave from Sandy Bay and paddle the coastline of the River Derwent into the Hobart waterfront where you enjoy an on-water dining experience of fish and chips from your kayak. This is a relaxed paddle and no paddling experience is necessary. The Tasman Peninsula paddle is an inspiring day paddle with fluted sea cliffs, sea caves, shipwrecks and wildlife. Paddle along 200-metre-high cliffs, by awed by

Further information contact jenny@roaring40skayaking.com.au www.roaring40skayaking.com.au https://www.facebook.com/roaring40skayaking

For day trips, we offer both short 2.5 hour paddles around the Hobart waterfront, or full-day kayaking adventures that are suitable for beginners to experienced paddlers.

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Resident species include the hooded plover, red-capped plover, pied and sooty oyster catchers. The important work participants undertake aids in assessing shorebird populations and habitat quality with the information then uploaded to the Department’s Natural Values Atlas where it helps to improve conservation outcomes for all levels of government, industry and general public planning and decision making.

LEFT: Wallaby Bay, Port Davey – Photo by Andrew Bain. Wallaby Arch is located in Wallaby Bay in Port Davey. The only way to reach this spectacular bay is by water. MIDDLE: Celery Tops – Photographer Andrew Bain. Taken from the Celery Top islands on Bathurst Harbour with Mt. Rugby behind the paddlers.

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Our Wilderness on Water expeditions have been named... “One of the World’s 10 Epic Sea Kayak Paddles” by Lonely Planet “One of the Top 9 experiences in Tasmania” by Lonely Planet “Australia’s most magnificent paddling destination” by Australian Geographic Outdoor magazine

BELOW RIGHT: Stephens Beach – Photograph supplied by Roaring 40°s Kayaking. This remote beach in Southwest Tasmania (in the Tasmanian Wilderness World Heritage Area) is home to many threatened and vulnerable shorebird species including the red-necked stint, ruddy turnstone and sanderling, hooded plover, red-capped plover and Australian Pied Oystercatcher and sooty oyster catchers. The Australian Pied Oystercatcher is one of the rarest shorebirds in the world and the Tasmanian population is estimated to be about 30 per cent of the global population. As this beach is so remote, little is know of the shorebird populations in this area. Roaring 40°s Kayaking is working with the Tasmanian Parks and Wildlife Service and Birdlife Tasmania to identify and record these species on Stephens Beach during their kayaking expeditions. This important work will aid in assessing shorebird populations and habitat quality with the information uploaded to the Department’s Natural Values Atlas where it helps improve conservation outcomes for governments, industry and general public planning and decision making.

Totem Pole, Fortescue Bay, Tasman Peninsula â&#x20AC;&#x201C; photo by Toby Story Paddlers outside the Candlestick and Totem Pole rock formations in Fortescue Bay on the Tasman Peninsula. The Totem Pole is famed by rock climbers the world over and we can often watch climbers while we paddle past.

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Nadya Stillmark Nadya makes her mark

Nadya Stillmark

As the graphic designer engaged for this edition of eARTh e-mag, Nadya Stillmark is not a climate expert but has indeed experienced the different climates of the world. Here photographed by partner Tim Lumsdaine at Chiemsee in Germany, Nadya also recently spent time in New Mexico. These two locations are worlds apart in terms of their water environments.

In this issue, Nadya brings to light how design and content can be attuned, in this case to the theme of water; it is edition #6 of eARTh e-mag and she is also collaborating with previous edition designer Sarah Heath and, given their work history together, they make for a mighty fine, in this case, earth-committed duo. Nadya’s background includes the UK graphic design scene which she left for the shores of Australia. Now Sydney-based, Nadya is a senior graphic designer and art director with 20 years experience in advertising agencies; she provides strong conceptual and layout skills across corporate ID, brand implementation, brochures/guidelines, print/promos and web design to exhibitions, packaging and project management.

Nadya Stillmark, Chiemsee, Germany, 2005 Photograph by Tim Lumsdaine

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Such are the hallmarks of Stillmark. With great attention to detail and the capacity to work to tight deadlines, Nadya does not even break a sweat with her cool approach to design. Integrating strategic thinking with enthusiasm for good design, Morph Creative prides itself on innovative, creative and practical design solutions with real-life values. Importantly, Nadya articulates that her work is her commitment to making the world a more beautiful place! Email: nadya@morphcreative.com.au

Chasing Waterfalls Peter Gray Peter Gray is a prolific landscape photographer with a penchant for water scapes and a specific hankering for waterfalls. eARTh e-mag requested Peter take our readers on a spot of armchair travel to a geographic location where he managed to capture the most stunning waterfalls in the shortest space of time. While I thought it would be a mighty request, his response was immediate and clear, “That would be far north Queensland,” and the images flooded in with a descriptor on each. Sit back and enjoy the views and some real ‘ahhhh’ moments. It would be terrific to have Peter as the Australian arm-chair travel photographer for eARTh, he has certainly captured the green glory of this wide, brown land and after seeing these images you too will find you can’t get enough of his stunning shots. www.clicimage.com.au TOP: ELLINJAA FALLS | Regarded as one of the best waterfalls for swimming. The rainforest is right up to the edge of both the waterfall and its lagoon, and the narrow walk into the falls all made it feel like a hidden treasure that had just been stumbled upon.

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BOTTOM: JOURAMA FALLS, WATERVIEW CREEK | Waterview Creek, Jourama Falls. Still quite early in the morning having just travelled from Wallaman Falls on my way home. I didn’t want to walk all the way to the falls, as I would have to make a couple of creek crossings through some seriously fast running water. I found this section of the creek and the reflection on the water was amazing. The water was running quite quickly however the top of the water appears to be completely still except for the water closest to us. I haven’t found another quite like it.

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WALLAMAN FALLS AT BASE Wallaman Falls is Australiaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s highest single drop waterfall. This photograph is captured at the very first light of day just before sunrise. I spent the night in the back of my SUV with torrential rain falling all night long stopping just before this photograph was taken. The mist rising from the bottom of the ravine was breath-taking. I decided to take the walk down to the bottom of the ravine. The path was cut into the side of the very steep ravine wall, zig zagging back and forth all the way to the bottom.

The closer I got to the bottom of the ravine, the wetter the atmosphere around me became, until I was at the bottom and completely immersed in the mist from the waterfall. It was impossible to keep the camera gear dry. I had to wipe the front of the lens dry before each shot. What an experience, it was amazing. The constant explosions of rocks hitting the base of the falls after travelling the 268 metres from the top. I had the whole place to myself, a stunning experience.

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OPPOSITE PAGE LEFT: WALLAMAN FALLS RIGHT: BARRON FALLS | The Barron Falls. Located near Kuranda (known as ‘The Village in the Rainforest’). The best time to visit the Barron Falls is during the wet season when there is a flood of water thundering and churning down its face. These falls would be one of the most impressive for size and sheer power, the sound of the water thundering is amazing. This photograph highlights a small section of the falls (used a large telephoto lens).

THIS PAGE TOP: MUNGALLI FALLS | The top of these falls is beautiful with a small set of rapids and a great view to the bottom of the falls (also a very nice Tea House). The view from the bottom was worth the walk down and steep climb back to the top. BOTTOM: MILLA MILLA FALLS | A magnificent waterfall surrounded by lush rainforest. This photograph was taken from the edge of the carpark. Could be the most photographed waterfall on the Tablelands, and for good reason.

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10+11+12 JULY 2015

Nambour Showgrounds, Sunshine Coast WHAT’S ON:         

More than 360 exhibitors including 55 nurseries 40,000 plants for sale daily Landscape garden displays Giant organic kitchen garden Gardeners & Gourmets cooking stage Over 120 FREE lectures and demonstrations Tips from leading gardening experts Free kids playground, food and entertainment Floral art, garden clubs and more...

www.qldgardenexpo.com.au

8 + 9 +10 +11 OCTOBER 201

Pine Rivers Park, Strathpine EVENT HIGHLIGHTS: Inspiring garden talks by leading experts More than 40 nurseries with a huge variety of plants for sale daily Progressive designer gardens Sustainable organic kitchen garden Free lecture and demonstration program every day Entertainment, children’s activities, scrumptious food and much more...

www.brisbanegardenshow.com.au Proudly supported by

Environmentally connected artistic happenings around the globe… February 2

World Wetlands Day Theme – ‘Wetlands for Our Future’ The following dates run for the term of this edition of eARTh e-mag from February 1 – June 1 and beyond. To submit listings for the next edition which runs June 1 – October 1, 2015 inclusive, please contact the Producer, Sandra Conte on s_conte@bigpond.net.au or editor@earth-emag.com February 1 – May 30

‘Mistatim’ by Red Sky

Wetlands purify and replenish water, and provide the fish and rice that feed billions. Wetlands act as a natural sponge against flooding and drought, and protect coastlines. They burst with biodiversity, and are a vital means of storing carbon. Unfortunately, these benefits are not widely known. Often viewed as wasteland, 64% of our wetlands have disappeared since 1900. Wetlands are one of the most valuable environments on earth and are under threat from invasive plants and animals. Wetlands are essential for providing clean water in rivers, streams and oceans; they provide habitat for wildlife and are productive landscapes for enjoyment and inspiration.

February 7, Ballina, Australia

WetlandCare Australia Photography Prize Exhibition Exhibition and announcement at Northern Rivers Community Gallery. In its eighth year, the prize has now introduced a Youth Award in three competition categories in addition to the traditional first, second and third place prizes. “Young wetland enthusiasts have been a key part of our annual World Wetlands Day celebrations for many years, and it’s great to be able to offer prizes just for younger photographers for the first time since 2012,” says Prize Coordinator Liz Hajenko. The categories in this award are Wetland Flora, Changing Landscapes and Helping Wetlands Flourish. The exhibition Connor Winchester, Sunset By The Reeds, Youth Photography Prize Winner 2012

Canada’s leading company of world Indigenous performance in dance, theatre and music, Red Sky is touring Mistatim for children and family audiences. Mistatim is a coming of age story about the truest of friendships. A wooden fence is all that separates Calvin’s ranch and Speck’s reservation, but in many ways they are worlds apart. An unlikely friendship is struck between the two 11-year olds when Calvin attempts to ‘break’ the only horse no one else can tame in order to prove himself to his father. Speck, who is struggling to find her place in her family, discovers her incredible gift to communicate with horses. Working together to rein in the wild horse, Calvin and Speck learn to communicate with one another across the divide of their own cultures. www.redskyperformance.com

Celebrated internationally on the same date each year, to mark the signing of the Convention on Wetlands of International Importance (Ramsar Convention) in Ramsar, Iran, February 2, 1971.

or digital camera between February 2 and March 2, 2015, and upload it to the Ramsar Convention Secretariat’s World Wetlands Day 2015. www.worldwetlandsday.org

Youth Photographic Competition. To celebrate World Wetlands Day, the Ramsar Convention Secretariat is running a photographic competition for 15-24 year olds. The winner will receive a free flight to a famous wetland of their choice anywhere in the world. To enter, take a picture of your favourite wetland with your phone

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will be on display from February 5 to March 1, Northern Rivers Community Art Gallery, 44 Cherry Street, Ballina, NSW, Australia. The 2015 winning entries will be exhibited in the on-line gallery from February 2015. Major sponsors of the Prize include the NSW Office of Environment and Heritage and the Murray-Darling Basin Authority. www.wetlandcare.com.au Until February 8, Brisbane

Tracey Moffatt: Spirited QAGOMA Exhibition featuring works completed since the artist’s recent return to Australia from New York after 12 years and accompanied by an illustrated 112 page exhibition catalogue. The exhibition includes video work, five photographic series and a digital photoframe; the artist also selected thirteen works from the QAGOMA Collection that in dialogue with her own work connect Tracey Moffatt, Picturesque Cherbourg no.6 (from ‘Spirit Landscapes’ series) 2013 | Digital print collage on handmade paper | Proposed gift of Dr Michael and Eva Slancar.

relationships with the landscape to the mind and spirit. www.qagoma.qld.gov.au February 8 – 10, The Netherlands

New Developments in IT & Water Conference

The second edition of the New Developments in IT & Water Conference is a high-profile international event organised by the Royal Dutch Water Association (KNW) and the International Water Association (IWA), and supported by the IWA Instrumentation, Control and Automation Specialist Group. http://iwcconferences.com/the-newdevelopments-in-it-water/ February 13 entries close, South Australia

Emma Hack Art Prize, ‘Humanity in Nature’

Entries are now open for the Emma Hack Art Prize ($5,000, acquisitive) and the People’s Choice Prize ($2,000). A registered event of the Adelaide Fringe Festival, the Emma Hack Art Prize is a $5000 acquisitive art prize for all South Australian based artists from any discipline, with a yearly theme. In its second year, the Prize celebrates a range of media in contemporary art within this year’s theme of ‘Humanity in Nature’. This award is again sponsored by Raw Pearls. www.emmahackartprize.com February 13 – March 15, 2015, South Australia

Adelaide Fringe

Adelaide Fringe, the largest arts festival in the Southern Hemisphere. Principal Partner BankSA. An annual arts festival run over four

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weeks in Adelaide, South Australia; unlike a curated festival, the open-access nature of Adelaide Fringe means that anyone with a show, exhibition or cultural event is able to register and be part of Australia’s largest arts event. The result is one of the most diverse arts festivals in the world, renowned for fresh ideas, spontaneity and fun. Artists from around Australia and across the globe participate alongside home-grown talent, in art forms spanning cabaret, comedy, circus, dance, film, theatre, music, visual art and design. Adelaide Fringe takes over the city with over 900 events staged in pop up venues in parks, warehouses, lane-ways and empty buildings as well as established venues such as theatres, hotels, art galleries, cafes and town halls. www.adelaidefringe.com.au February 13 – 16, Ivory’s Rock, Queensland

Earth Frequency Festival

Celebrating its 10th Anniversary. Four days of multi-faceted entertainment across three stages. Earth Frequency Festival is proud to be an 100% independent, honest energy event without corporate sponsorship from organisations with which is does not align or any government funding, or the sale of alcohol to make the festival a reality each year. As part of its development and evolution as a festival that is connected to its local community, there is now an established system of strategic sponsorship with sponsor relations welcomed with local, ethical businesses of mutual support. www.earthfrequency.com.au

Until February 22, Brisbane

Lindy Lee, The Dark of Absolute Freedom University of Queensland Art Museum First major survey of the artist’s work, examining and celebrating Lindy Lee’s contribution to Australia’s cultural life over the past three decades. Includes 48 works ranging from her acclaimed early photocopy work along with the work that evolved following her embrace of Buddhism and her Chinese heritage and recent works in which she employs pyrographic techniques to evoke the infinity of the cosmos, and compositions comprising flung bronze. www.artmuseum.uq.edu.au

February 28 – December 31 2015, Melbourne

Nordic Cool: Modernist Design National Gallery of Victoria

From Henning Koppel’s iconic silver Fish dish for Georg Jensen to the egalitarian designs of Finnish clothing company Marimekko, the timeless and classic beauty of Scandinavian design will be celebrated in a new NGV exhibition, Nordic Cool: Modernist Design. Drawn from the NGV’s rich collection of Nordic design and on display in the Decorative Arts Passage at NGV International, the exhibition will showcase key designers and manufacturers of the 1920s to 1960s, encompassing ceramics, glass, silverware, furniture, textiles and lighting. Through pieces as varied as Alvar Aalto’s organic glass Savoy vase and the elegantly functional PH 4/3 table lamp by Poul Henningsen,

the exhibition highlights the surprisingly diverse spectrum of aesthetics within Scandinavian design. Free Entry

Henning KOPPEL (designer) | GEORG JENSEN SØLVSMEDIE, Copenhagen (manufacturer) | Fish dish (1956) {designed} (c. 1980) {manufactured} silver (a-b) 14.2 x 71.2 x 19.2 cm (overall) | National Gallery of Victoria, Melbourne Purchased with the assistance of Georg Jensen Silversmiths Ltd to mark the centenary of Georges Australia Ltd, 1980

March 6 – 22

Bleach* Festival, Australia

Lindy Lee | Fire and Water 2006 (Based on an original photograph by Rob Scott-Mitchell) synthetic polymer paint and wax on board, archival inks on photorag paper mounted on board 17 panels, one 81.0 x 60.0 cm 16 panels, each 40.6 x 30.2 cm overall 162.5 x 150.5 cm Collection of The University of Queensland. Gift of Lindy Lee through the Australian Government’s Cultural Gifts Program, 2013. Reproduced courtesy of the artist, Roslyn Oxley9 Gallery, Sydney, Sutton Gallery, Melbourne and 10 Chancery Lane Gallery, Hong Kong.

The Gold Coast’s largest arts and cultural festival, drawing its inspiration from beach and coastal culture. Presenting a feast of Australia’s and the Gold Coast’s best contemporary musicians and artists over three mega weekends, full program announcement on February 3. www.bleachfestival.com.au

Bobby Alu to appear at Bleach* Festival 2015

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March 7, 3.00pm – 5.00pm, Brisbane

‘A Thousand Fibres’, State Library of Queensland, kuril dhagun Workshop – A Thousand Fibres: Brooches with Sonja Carmichael

Join Quandamooka weaver Sonja Carmichael to learn to create your very own brooch using recycled, off-cut materials and fibres. A Thousand Fibres is kuril dhagun’s new monthly workshop series for ages 15+, featuring some of Brisbane’s most exciting and talented Indigenous artists. Part of kuril dhagun’s A Thousand Words exhibition, featuring portraits by artists Cheryl Creed and Nickeema Williams. State Library of Queensland, Stanley Place, Brisbane, Queensland, Australia. Bookings until March 5 on www.slq.qld.gov.au/whats-on/calevents/ kd/a-thousand-fibres/brooches-with-sonjacarmichael March 8

International Women’s Day

‘Make It Happen’ is the 2015 theme encouraging effective action for advancing and recognising women. It is the one day of the year when people around the world come together across physical and cultural divides to celebrate the rights of women and girls.

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Why is the colour purple associated with International Women’s Day? From 1908, the Women’s Social and Political Union (WSPU) in Great Britain adopted the colour scheme of purple, white and green to symbolise the plight of the Suffragettes. Purple symbolised justice and dignity – two values strongly associated with women’s equality. The three colours were used for banners, flags, rosettes and badges to show solidarity. So ‘Paint it purple’ – your building, canteen, playground, wear purple clothing, whatever you do – celebrate women, call for equality – and ‘Make it happen’. http://www.internationalwomensday.com/ March 9-12, Cancun, Mexico

Third UNCCD Scientific Conference on ‘Combating drought, land degradation and desertification for poverty reduction and sustainable development’. The contribution of science, technology, traditional knowledge and practices. One of the major challenges facing delegates to the conference is the development of new scientific insights and recommendations to policy makers with regards to the assessment of vulnerability of socioecosystems to climate change and current and future capacities to adapt. http://3sc.unccd.int/ March 18 – 19, Sydney

Water Innovation Forum 2015 The Australian Water Association Water Innovation Forum will be a platform to share water innovation across the water, construction, food and beverage, and agricultural industries, providing a showcase of best practice solutions that can be

adopted in other sectors. The Forum will be held at Royal Randwick Sydney providing expansive exhibition space including large scale exhibits in the outdoor terrace area with a full scale outdoor exhibit of the latest in water innovation. www.awa.asn.au/innovationforum15/ March 22

World Water Day Water and sustainable Development is the theme of World Water Day 2015 which each year highlights a specific aspect of freshwater. It provides an important opportunity to consolidate and build upon the previous World Water Days to highlight water’s role in the sustainable development agenda. www.unwater.org/worldwaterday

March 23

World Meteorological Day Climate Knowledge for Climate Action World Meteorological Day is celebrated every year on March 23 to commemorate the entry into force in 1950 of the convention that created the World Meteorological Organization. The day also highlights the huge contribution that National Meteorological and Hydrological Services make to the safety and well-being of society. The call for Climate Action is coming from all around the world – from the Third Small Islands Developing States meeting in Samoa to the hundreds of thousands of marchers participating in 2,646 rallies in 162 countries two days before the UN Climate Summit. In March 2015, a new blueprint for action on disaster risk reduction, replacing the first Hyogo Framework for Action (HFA), will be adopted in Sendai, Japan, at the Third UN World Conference on Disaster Risk Reduction. In December, the United Nations Framework Convention for Climate Change (UNFCCC) aims to achieve a new universal agreement on climate. Its Green Climate Fund (GCF) will support projects, programmes, policies and other activities in developing countries toward adaptation and mitigation to counter climate change. The United Nations Post-2015 Development Agenda will also include goals to slow the alarming pace of climate change and environmental degradation, which pose unprecedented threats to humanity. http://www.wmo.int/worldmetday/

March 27– 29, Arizona

April 2 – 6, 26th

‘Water, Climate, Place: Reimagining Environments’ is the conference theme which aims to provoke discourse around what our elusive future might hold and how transdisciplinary thought and action could be used as tools for positive change.

Australia’s largest International Festival of Blues and Roots Music set in beautiful Byron Bay on the Tyagarah Tea Tree Farm.

Balance-Unbalance 2015

There will be exhibitions, concerts, paper presentations, panels and virtual content. Workshops on Trash, Activism, water conservation and other issues relating to environmental management. www.balance-unbalance2015.org

Annual Byron Bay Bluesfest

Massive line-up includes, just to name a handful, Ben Harper and the Innocent Criminals, Lenny Kravitz, David Gray, Paolo Nutini, Michael Franti and Spearhead, Angelique Kidjo, Hozier. www.bluesfest.com.au

March 28

Earth Hour Use your power to change climate change Running from 8.30pm local time, the mission of this charitable organisation based in Singapore is to unite people to protect the planet. An open source movement organised by the World Wildlife Fund and volunteer organisations worldwide, Earth Hour started as a lights-off event in Sydney, Australia in 2007 and has since grown to engage more than 162 countries and territories worldwide. www.earthhour.org

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April 8 – 10

Copenhagen, Denmark EvoMUSART 4th International Conference on Evolutionary and Biologically Inspired Music, Sound, Art and Design, part of evo* 2015, the conference will bring together researchers working with biologically inspired computer techniques for artistic tasks to promote, present and discuss ongoing work in the field. www.evostar.org April 14-19, Italy

Ventura Lambrate 2015 Ventura Lambrate 2015 will take place during Salone del Mobile (the Milan Furniture Fair). Ventura Lambrate aspires to exhibit artworks demonstrating crossdisciplinary collaborations and will focus on the crossover between design and various areas of science and social progress. Every April, the official fair ‘Salone del Mobile’ and all associated events (with the overarching title ‘FuoriSalone’) occupy the centre and reach out into the neighbourhoods of Milan and each year, a large, influential and professional audience heads to Milan to discover the newest designs, to scout fledgling talent, to obtain fruitful inspirations and to do business. This sixth iteration will also provide a stage for the most interesting designfashion hybrids. http://www.venturaprojects.com/9-venturalambrate-2015/

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April 22

International Mother Earth Day It’s our turn to lead is the theme of 2015, Earth Day’s 45th anniversary which could be the most exciting year in environmental history. The year in which economic growth and sustainability join hands. The year in which world leaders finally pass a binding climate change treaty. The year in which citizens and organizations divest from fossil fuel investments and put their money into renewable energy solutions. These are tough issues but what’s at stake is the future of the planet and the survival of life on earth. On Earth Day, take a stand so that together, the world can be shown a new direction. ‘It’s your turn to lead’, is the theme so world leaders can follow by example. International Mother Earth Day is celebrated to remind each of us that the Earth and its ecosystems provide us with life and sustenance. It also recognizes a collective responsibility, as called for in the 1992 Rio Declaration, to promote harmony with nature and the Earth to achieve a just balance among the economic, social and environmental needs of present and future generations of humanity. earthday.org/2015

April 22 – 26, Osnabrück, Germany,

European Media Arts Festival

http://www.emaf.de May 26, Tasmania

MONA Heavy Metal Project and IMAS Tour In October 2013, MONA founder David Walsh and partner Kirsha Kaechele launched the Derwent River Heavy Metal project to find innovative and creative solutions to one of Hobart’s biggest environmental problems, how to rid the Derwent of years of build up of toxic heavy metals. More than 60 scientists from leading international universities and research centres are working with MONA to identify ways of ridding the river of the build up. Location: IMAS, Castray Esplanade, Battery Point Time: 5.15pm – 6.45pm www.awa.asn.au E tasbranch@awa.asn.au June 5 – 7, Woodfordia

The Planting Plant, seed, grow ideas Concerts, dance, films, comedy, talks and forums, workshops and demonstrations, walks ceremony, tree plantings, children’s festival, visual arts programme. www.theplantingfestival.com The Planting 2014 Photo by Jaia

June 7, Sunshine Coast

Sunshine Coast World Environment Day Festival University of the Sunshine Coast, Sippy Downs Campus, Queensland www.facebook.com/worldenvironmentday June 8 World Oceans Day

Healthy oceans, healthy planet World Oceans Day is the official UN-designated international day of ocean celebration. On June 8 each year, the ocean and its importance is celebrated along with how it can be protected; the ocean is the heart of the planet, like the heart pumping blood to every part of the body, the ocean connects people across the Earth, no matter where they live. The ocean regulates the climate, feeds millions of people every year, produces oxygen, is the home to an incredible array of wildlife, provides us with important medicines, and so much more! In order to ensure the health and safety of communities and future generations, it’s imperative that responsibility is taken to care for the ocean as it cares for us. www.worldoceansday.org

We have to ensure that oceans continue to meet our needs without compromising those of future generations. They regulate the planet’s climate and are a significant source of nutrition. Their surface provides essential passage for global trade, while their depths hold current and future solutions to humanity’s energy needs.

June 17

World Day to Combat Desertification and Drought In 2015, the World Day to Combat Desertification (17 June) will be celebrated with the theme, “attainment of food security for all through sustainable food systems,” with the slogan, ‘No such thing as a free lunch. Invest in healthy soil’, the 2015 observance calls for: (1) A change in our land use practices through smart agriculture and adaptation to changing climate, especially in the dry fragile parts of the world where food shortages are becoming more and more severe; (2) Access to technology and land rights for smallholder farmers who safeguard the environment and meet the food needs of millions of households, especially among the poorest households; (3) A balance in the land used for ecology and consumption, drawing on the best practices; (4) More investments in sustainable land practices so that sustainable food systems become the normal practice; and (5) More effective action on desertification whose effects on security, peace and stability are invisible yet real for the affected countries due especially to food and water scarcity and environmentally forced migration. The Day will feature a global observance event in Milan, Italy, during the 2015 UN Expo as well as National and local observances. http://www.unccd.int/

Secretary General, United Nations, Ban-Ki-moon

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June 12 – 14, Sunshine Coast

Sunshine Coast Agricultural Show Sunshine Coast Agricultural Show Photograph S. Conte

Celebrating 110 Years. Strong in its traditional agricultural theme the show has community support, school participation, environmental aspects and a growing attendance while recognising the need for relevancy for young attendees. Nambour Showgrounds, Coronation Avenue, Nambour, QLD, Australia, Gates open from 8.00am each day. June 12 – 28, Santa Fe, New Mexico

CURRENTS

CURRENTS is an annual citywide event that brings together the work of established and emerging new media artists from all over the world for events showcasing interactive and fine art video installations, multimedia performances, single-channel video, animation, digital dome programs, experimental documentary and web based/app artforms. CURRENTS provides the community with opportunities to experience New Media Arts in traditional venues, public and outdoor spaces. 5000 visitors attended festival events in 2013. The Festival is enjoyed by a broad demographic – children spinning through the galleries revelling in interactive New Media – seniors contemplating image and meaning – working class families – and savvy collectors. http://currentsnewmedia.org/

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July 10,11,12 Nambour, Sunshine Coast, Australia

Queensland Garden Expo

October 8 – 11, Brisbane

Brisbane International Garden Show Inspiring talks by leading experts, more than 40 nurseries with huge variety of plants; sustainable organic kitchen garden, lectures, demos and children’s activities. www.brisbanegardenshow.com.au November 5 – 8 Montreal

Re-Create 2015

Queensland Garden Expo 2014 | Photograph S. Conte

More than 360 exhibitors including 55 nurseries, giant organic kitchen garden, 120 free lectures, demonstrations and more. www.qldgardenexpo.com.au August 14 – 18, Vancouver

ISEA2015

ISEA2015, the 21st International Symposium on Electronic Art, the ISEA2015 theme, DISRUPTION, which invites a conversation about the aesthetics of change, renewal, and game-changing paradigms. www.isea2015.org August 20, Tasmania

Where the Waters Meet AWA (Australian Water Association) Tasmania Annual Conference 8.30am – 5.00pm Wrest Point Convention Centre, Sandy Bay Road, Sandy Bay www.awa.asn.au E tasbranch@awa.asn.au

Re-Create 2015 is hosted by Hexagram, Concordia University and Université du Québec à Montréal in collaboration with Media@McGill and the Centre for Interdisciplinary Research in Music Media and Technology at McGill University. The title Re-Create is an abbreviation for the term “research-creation”, part of a growing international movement which goes by many names: “practice-led research,” “research-led practice,” and “artistic research,” among others. While the link between research and practice seems to be a new horizon, the media-based arts have long been at the intersection of the humanities, sciences, and engineering and present a critical site in which to take up the changing relationships between knowledge, power, and economy. Re-Create 2015 proposes the central question of what theories, methodologies and techniques can be used to understand past, present and indeed, future paradigms of creative material practice involving technologies within research contexts, from an historical and critical point of view. www.mediaarthistory.org/recreate-2015

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Upskilling for a life balance Co-Designer of Issue #6, Sarah Heath has been busy since her last sole layout design of eARTh e-mag Issue #5. Recently returning from a family trip to Vietnam and Cambodia where the landscapes were diverse and the Mekong dominated, Buddhist temple design has provided inspiration a-plenty for her own design practice. Also on the table is enrolment with the Open University’s online program where, beginning March, Sarah will commence a

BA (Internet Communications) with Curtin University. Sarah talks about the reasons for returning to study – “I had been investigating upskilling options – I’ve been practising graphic design for 20 years now and all my online/ web experience has been learnt on the job. The electives for this degree fall within the same areas as what I currently do but with an online/digital focus and I’d really like that broader investigation which university study offers”. This learning option also sits comfortably for Sarah with both work and family commitments. Sarah says she’s really enjoyed being a part of this issue codesigning with Nadya and the online nature of eARTh e-mag aligns with this newly discovered area of study for Sarah. E sarahheathdesign@gmail.com www.sarahheathdesign.com.au Sarah and family, achieving that work life balance and connecting with the environs of Cambodia over the festive season.

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Octonauts tour to save the reef OCTONAUTS LIVE! OPERATION REEF SHIELD tours Australian capital cities from February throughout March 2015. Developed from a special new episode of the worldwide hit children’s animation series The Octonauts (ABC For Kids), Octonauts Live! Operation Reef Shield is a live adventure musical touring Australia’s premier theatres. Captain Barnacles and his trusty crew join forces with a host of colourful Australian reef dwellers on a mission to save the Great Barrier Reef! When the Octonauts deploy a new undersea medical station designed to keep the reef clean and healthy, they discover a problem that threatens the reef dwellers and their home. An outbreak of spiky and very hungry Crown of Thorns Starfish are on their way to eat the reef! It will take all the Octonauts, their Gups, and a rag-tag crew of sea creatures to ward off the advancing starfish and save the Great Barrier Reef! The OCTONAUTS are an eight person team of quirky and courageous undersea adventurers who are always ready to dive into action! It is their mission to explore new underwater worlds, rescue amazing sea creatures and protect the ocean. The production is written and directed by Life Like Touring’s Theresa Borg, who wrote and directed acclaimed internationally touring productions Scooby-Doo Live! Musical Mysteries, which toured to Australia, North America, Middle East and Europe, and Sesame Street Presents Elmo’s World Tour which toured Australia and Asia.

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“When we met with the US producers of The Octonauts we knew we wanted to do something about the Great Barrier Reef. They happened to have an upcoming Season Special episode that we could work with, so in an unprecedented move they gave us access to their new season special script before it went into production,” says Theresa. “We have since developed and edited this episode into an extended Life Like show – so of course we’ve made it into a musical that features the much loved ‘Creature Report’ song and The Octonauts theme song along with 15 new songs sung by many voices ranging from The Octonauts themselves to reef creatures. A state of the art video animation background will offer an everchanging perspective on the bustling reef. Octonauts Live! Operation Reef Shield is a live on stage underwater spectacular full of interactive and educational fun, special effects and a musical score. A mix of science fiction technology and biology, the subject matter of The OCTONAUTS is said to be reminiscent of Star Trek and Thunderbirds blended with Jacques Cousteau. Running Time 75 min total Act One 30 mins Interval 15 min Act Two 30 min Tour dates and more information available via OctonautsLive.com.au

The Blossom Creek by Sari, 10 years

WORLD OCEANS DAY is June 8

>M ost of the Earth (72%) is covered by ocean, so it is sometimes called the “blue planet.” > T he major oceans are: Pacific Ocean, Atlantic Ocean, Indian Ocean, Southern Ocean, and Arctic Ocean. > T he deepest point in the ocean is the Marianas Trench near Asia with a depth of almost 11,000 metres (over 36,000 ft) or almost 7 miles. >M ost of the oxygen we breathe comes from the ocean. >B lue whales are the largest animal ever to live on the planet (can reach more than 110 feet and weigh nearly 200 tons, more than the weight of 50 adult elephants). > L eatherback turtles can grow as large as a small car. > S wordfish and marlin are the fastest fish in the ocean reaching speeds up to 75 mph in quick bursts; bluefin tuna can swim up to 55 mph. >P enguins “fly” underwater at up to 25 mph. >A group of fish is called a school. A group of jelly fish is called a smack. >C arrageenan is an ingredient that comes from seaweed and is used in many things we eat including ice cream and chocolate milk (to make it smoother) and toothpaste (to hold the other ingredients together).

www.WorldOceansDay.org

The Blossom Creek is an art work by our eARThy Kids rep. Sari, who whipped it up for eARTh e-mag knowing our theme for this issue was all about water. Here’s the artist’s statement:

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The Blossom Creek was originally inspired by Claude Monet’s The Water Lily Pad artwork. Although it was inspired by that piece it isn’t the same as it has a blossom tree and many other little details that make it as original as it is. When thinking of how I wanted to make the blossom creek I decided to make it somewhere that was peaceful, inspiring and where I would like to go to relax as the waterfall runs down into the creek, and that is another way I came up with this artwork. BY SARI

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To learn and do more about the ocean visit www. WorldOceansDay.org where you’ll find some tips from World Oceans Day organisers to help you think about how your school might celebrate the day. They also have some interesting facts, for instance, did you know?

It certainly is the place where we might find the frogs and even some of the mosquitoes from our eARThy Kids stories. Thanks Sari! If you have some art to do with the environment that you would like to share with eARTh e-mag for Sari’s eARThy Kids gallery section, ask your parent to send it to s_conte@bigpond.net.au and we will see if it fits into our theme. All images need to be sent in around 1MB in size and the artist must give permission for it to be reproduced in the e-mag however we cannot promise it will be published due to space restrictions.

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EARTHY KIDS CONTINUED

Fun frog facts Frogs and rain go hand in hand but why? And what do we really know about frogs? One of The Queensland Frog Society’s regional coordinators Brittany Elliott said there are many fun and important facts to be learned about our froggy friends.

– raising awareness and educating festival punters. The exhibitors will help you save money with key tips around household sustainability. Great food and entertainment is on all day and you will learn a lot about the Sunshine Coast’s regional biodiversity, coast and hinterland. If you find The Queensland Frog Society stall at the event, you might just get to know your Graceful Treefrog from your Eastern Sedgefrog, or your Striped Marsh Frog from your Pobblebonk! (The University is also the perfect place to consider undertaking a Bachelor of Environmental Science degree, like Brittany). http://www.qldfrogs.asn.au/ https://www.facebook.com/worldenvironmentday http://www.usc.edu.au/

Brittany said, “The Queensland Frog Society wants to raise awareness of the simple things we can do to help our local frogs. Frog numbers are declining. They are our environmental indicators and if they disappear from an area, we can assume that their environment is no longer healthy”. The Society can help with simple ideas like creating a frog pond for your gardens or identifying which frog you can hear calling. Brittany has been passionate about environmental science – and frogs – since high school. When most of her friends were heading to ‘Schoolies Week’, she joined an academic research team to investigate diminishing frog populations in New South Wales, Australia. A recipient of a $15,000 Queensland Government Supporting Women Scholarship and a $12,000 USC Vice-Chancellor’s Merit Scholarship, Brittany hopes to use her studies at the University of the Sunshine Coast to launch a research career which would allow her to continue to help endangered frog species. The Society was at last year’s Sunshine Coast World Environment Day Festival at USC’s Sippy Downs campus; the event was organised by the Sunshine Coast Environment Council with support from USC, Sunshine Coast Council, Noosa Council and the Queensland Government. The 2015 Festival scheduled at the same location on Sunday June 7, 10am – 4pm is a free family fun event showcasing innovative developments in arts, fashion, food and sustainability

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Brittany Elliott can identify frog species by their calls. Photo supplied by the University of the Sunshine Coast.

The Mozzie Slap – what’s that? Ever seen people doing a funny dance at dusk or in the forest, perhaps it’s ‘the mozzie slap’, the fastest way to stop being bitten alive by the little blighters! You might even have some around your home, local creek or favourite play area. Here’s some information to share with family and friends if you have been experiencing a mozzie invasion. When temperatures warm up, wet weather and high tides increase, the breeding conditions for mosquitoes become optimal. It is important to take steps to prevent mosquito breeding to minimise the spreading of mosquito borne viruses and this can be around the home and your playgrounds especially if there are patches of water. Cr. Jenny Mackay who is Community Programs Portfolio Councillor of Sunshine Coast Council on the east coast of Australia said residents here and anywhere else in the world with the problem can play an important role in reducing the high numbers to prevent being bitten. “Mosquito breeding sites in saltmarsh areas and intertidal zones on the Sunshine Coast Council area total about 1000ha and ultimately impact the majority of residents along our coastal towns and westward to the Blackall Range. During higher tidal inundations, typically around 12-15 per year, mosquito hatches are triggered and council’s proactive treatment program target as many of these saltmarsh mosquito breeding sites as possible. We particularly target the Aedes vigilax mosquito which is a vector for chronic diseases such as Ross River Fever.

When breeding sites are detected in and around residential areas Cr. Mackay said, “Everyone can help to reduce mosquito impacts, from cleaning up your yard to emptying water out of old pots, containers and tyres, there’s a number of small things you can do to help reduce the number of breeding sites around your home”. Personal protection of yourself and your property is the best means of protection against mosquitoes. Ways to reduce mosquito breeding around your home include: • Check places out of sight where they may be breeding e.g. roof guttering, where shallow pools can collect • Repair roof guttering and remove leaves and debris regularly • Remove overhanging vegetation • Empty pot plant dishes, car tyres and other containers at least once a week • Place sand around pot plant bases or store the bases for the season • Keep fish ponds stocked with fish • Cap cavity brick walls to prevent water pooling • Ensure rainwater tanks are well maintained and that intake and outlet points are screened with mesh of 1 mm or less • Fit screens to windows and doors. These actions will not fix the problem overnight but will have an impact over a week or more. Personal Protection for when mosquitoes are present includes wearing protective clothing outdoors (long pants and sleeves) and exploring eco friendly coil or burner options when outdoors as well as a recommended eco/natural personal mosquito repellent.

“Controlling mosquito populations is a complex task as the average mosquito can travel 30 km in distance dependant on the tides and wind direction”.

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EARTHY KIDS CONTINUED

F is for Festivals – The Woodford Wonderland. Family-friendly and fun Sari, our eARThy Kids correspondent has been visiting Woodfordia, the site which hosts the Woodford Folk Festival, the once International Festival of the Dreaming and The Planting since she was a baby. Here she tells us what she enjoyed the most outside of the dedicated Children’s Festival:

Alex Mizzen aerial performer. Photo courtesy Woodford Folk Festival.

So where will you be when Woodford winds its way around again in December? Our next report from Sari will be from The Planting, a mid-year festival (June 5 – 7, 2015, tickets on sale in April) at Woodfordia. www.theplanting.com.au www.woodfordfolkfestival.com Here are some snapshots from the Woodford Folk Festival.

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I enjoyed taking photos from the hill of the Opening ceremony with the fire lighting up the night; I also like to take the Sacred Labyrinth walk each year with my family; (I know they really like the comedy too, like the Great Green Debate and I enjoyed The Topp Twins); I also enjoyed the aerial performer, Alex Mizzen; Grant Goldie, a juggler from Northern Ireland and ’Uptown Brown’ who played music on the streets. My favourite concerts were ‘We Two Thieves’ who I met at the CD signing and also Kate Miller-Heidke who performed her song ‘Caught in the Crowd’. A special treat at Woodford is always the Byron Bay donuts.

Opening Ceremony, photo Sari

Kate Miller-Heidke in concert, photo S. Conte

Juggler Grant Goldie, courtesy Woodford Folk Festival

Uptown Brown, photo S. Conte

Sari takes the Sacred Union Labyrinth walk, photo S. Conte

Street performers, Little Bo Beep and Polar Bear, photo S. Conte

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EARTHY KIDS CONTINUED

GOMA Journey to Fantastic Lands Until May 10, 2015 Children’s Art Centre | Gallery 1.4 | GOMA | Free Gallery of Modern Art is located at Stanley Place, Cultural Precinct, South Bank, Brisbane, Queensland, Australia qagoma.qld.gov.au ‘Journey to Fantastic Lands’ explores the ways artists use their imagination to bring to life fantastical worlds that are full of adventure and mystery. Incorporating multimedia interactive activities, animation and artworks from the Gallery’s Collection, this exhibition invites children to come on a journey of discovery and create their own magical land. School bookings of 10 or more with all bookings required in advance. Email educationbookings@qagoma.qld.gov.au

Visit Journey to Fantastic Lands for a fantastic experience. Photo courtesy QAGOMA

HWANG In Jae | North Korea (DPRK) | China b.1943 | Family dancing at farm and Fairies in the sky (from the ‘The Fairy of the Kumgang Mountains’ series) 2009 | Gift of Nicholas Bonner through the Queensland Art Gallery Foundation 2010 | Collection: Queensland Art Gallery. Some of the artists they will encounter along the way.

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sarahheathdesign.com.au designing marketing material for business: identity, web, corporate reports, signage, marketing pieces. Visually beautiful design and considered communication.

graphic design and textile art

farley.cameron@bigpond.com

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e-mag h T R A e SUE S I T X NE

With three editions a year, eARTh e-mag is gearing up to the themes for its June and October uploads. Edition #7 (June 1, 2015) will be titled More than words and present features on autodidactics whose arts practice has relevance to the environment; autodidactics are self-taught learners on a subject of which they have little or no formal education. There are many famous autodidactics such as Leonardo da Vinci, Jean Michel Basquiat, Frida Kahlo; even writer William Blake and musician Frank Zappa fall into that category. Zappa infamously declaring, “Drop out of school before your mind rots from exposure to our mediocre educational system. Forget about the Senior Prom and go to the library and educate yourself if you’ve got any guts.” (Freak Out album liner notes, circa 1965.) Architects Frank Lloyd Wright and Le Corbusier, have also been classed as autodidactics. Edition #7 will also endeavour to define the difference of autodidactics from the classification of ‘outsider artists’. Irrespective, in eARTh e-mag’s experience sometimes the most exciting artists can be self-taught and we have two particular artists we would like to focus on. Stay-tuned! Edition #8, October 1, 2015 is titled Are we Human? And will focus on the link between humans and nature, the interdependence of humans and animals and understanding beyond verbal communications. It will bring stories, as always about the intersect of art and environment, ranging from a creative life with bees to a photographer-vet capturing the connections of dogs to their ‘owners’… and so much more.

THE LAST WAVE Steve Bristow, The Last Wave, Photography Daniel Michaud, SWELL Sculpture Festival 2012, is the image eARTh e-mag is privileged to have on the back cover of this water-themed issue. This is thanks to the kind permission of the artist Steve Bristow, a sculptor who caught the eye of eARTh at the Woodford Folk Festival two iterations ago. That larger-than-life work entitled ‘V’ with the byline ‘Sometimes we forget to fear until it is too late. Muahahah’ (Materials hardcoated poly) had impact; from this it was found that the Swell Sculpture Festival of 2011 showed his confronting work entitled Who Cares? about a dolphin caught in a ghost net, bringing readers to where we started this edition of eARTh e-mag, the ghost nets. Certainly, in making some waves, shock waves, Bristow’s work encapsulates the essence of what eARTh e-mag writes about, those who have used art to make a difference to world awareness of environmental concerns and causes. eARTh e-mag salutes Steve Bristow whose work on the back cover has the marine world waving back, signalling what we do not want it to be, The Last Wave. Steve Bristow Who Cares? Photography Steve Holland SWELL 2011 can be found at www.swellsculpture.com.au

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Images at far left and far right, Steve Bristow, V. Sometimes we forget to fear until it is too late. Muahahah. Materials hardcoated poly. Woodford Folk Festival 2013/14. Image at centre, Steve Bristow, Behind The Mask (Are you portraying who you really are or who you want people to think you areâ&#x20AC;Ś?) Materials hardcoated poly. Woodford Folk Festival 2014/15. Photographs S. Conte.

To contribute or for coverage, contact editor@earth-emag.com

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