eARTh Issue 1

Issue 1 ~ 2013 Dedicated to Balance-Unbalance Interna�onal Conference 2013

We all live here, we’re all human beings, we all have the same sort of purpose, looking a�er the earth.

Look at it and take it in... moving very lightly treading and trying not to disturb anything… you gain a great deal of respect for the place... and the connec�on, you just have this ‘full-on’ feeling of home and ‘belongingness’ and harmony... when you leave it as it is...

You look into the mangroves... I always think about the mudcrabs, that’s one of my favourite foods...lining the banks of the Noosa River... cruising up there...on a canoe...I think of a river as a place for exploring... finding the food to survive…

Lyndon Davis, Gubbi Gubbi/Kabi Kabi Elder Lyndon Davis referencing the Noosa Everglades, from ‘River of Mirrors’ collabora�on Lyndon Davis and Leah Barclay, Transient Landscapes CD compila�on from the Sound Mirrors Installa�on, 2010 www.leahbarclay,com

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Firings, Lyndon Davis, Floa�ng Land 2011, Photograph by Raoul Slater.

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Canoe from Gubbi Gubbi Gun’doo Yang’ga’man Canoe Project, Floa�ng Land Media Launch 2013, Photograph Sandra Conte.

Acknowledging First Nations to commencing the stories in this new, global emag, eARTh wishes to acknowledge the tradi�onal custodians of the land on which we write, the Gubbi Gubbi community and their ancestral spirits who walked this land.

Lyndon Davis, Photograph Sandra Conte.

Par�cular gra�tude to the leadership of Mr Lyndon Davis of the Gubbi Gubbi/Kabi Kabi people whose words and wisdom con�nue to inspire us. Lyndon’s dedica�on to community and environmental educa�on, his performances with the Gubbi Gubbi Dancers, true stories of bush tucker and survival through sustainable prac�ces, teaches all age groups from the very young to the elderly.

We take a leaf out of this new e-mag to salute Lyndon’s contribu�on to life-long learning, teaching us to respect people, their cultures, the environment, its land and water. Lyndon will again perform at the Floa�ng Land fes�val, with the ‘Wunya’ (Welcome) Ceremony which also involves the A�akkalari dance company from Bangalore, who grace the cover of the first edi�on of eARTh e-mag. The ceremony with rich layered projec�ons by James Muller and the incomparable Michel Tuffery, an original score composed by Andrew Veivers and performed by the Floa�ng Land Orchestra, will be directed by Sam Coward.

Lyndon will also be involved in Floa�ng Land with the Gubbi Gubbi Gun’doo Yang’ga’man Canoe Project Installa�on, resul�ng from documented research and reconstruc�on of a tradi�onal bark canoe, present onsite for the dura�on of Floa�ng Land at Boreen Point. This revitalisa�on of tradi�onal cra� is both simple and genius allowing us to bear witness to the true meaning of sustainable prac�ces.

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Cover photo - Shakthi Sivanathan, The DAM(N) Project, Jobat Dam, North India, 2011

Balance Unbalance 2013 - global talk - p.7

- p.17 T he Dam(n) Pro je ct

Noos a Biosphere Art Prize - p.30 Wandering Thirst - p. 35

F loating Land - p.38

Raoul Slater - p.43

hard Field - p.54

ISEA Previe w - p.62

ma Eve son - p.72

Me rma id - p.77 uide p.82 G t n e v E h t r at o n Ea

View from eARTh To celebrate the release of its inaugural issue, eARTh emag is jam-packed with global content with all adver�sing gi�ed, as a gesture of goodwill and commitment, to a brave new world where the mighty dollar might not dominate and where collabora�on is considered key to crea�ng a sustainable future. eARTh’s simple mandate is to support the arts and ar�sts who support the earth.

Opera�ng at the intersec�on of art and environment, eARTh brings stories of crea�ve eco-arts leadership and arts prac�ces to inspire and mo�vate readers towards posi�ve global change.

Dedicated to the Balance Unbalance Interna�onal Conference 2013, this first issue is launched amidst a global academic presence which also includes the ar�sts and a�endees of the parallel Floa�ng Land fes�val; our glorious cover image references both events. eARTh is for a cross-sec�on of readers, from academics to corporate crusaders, educators, ac�vists, ‘earthy kids’, families and ar�sts, who make the world a be�er place. eARTh is cu�ng-edge and free-spirited with an emphasis on images complemented by conversa�onal text. While eARTh acknowledges cri�cal issues, it does so without judgement in order to promote posi�ve, meaningful dialogue.

Please read to discover that eARTh e-mag is replete with pages true to its acronym - every Ar�st Responds To her’.

Sandra Conte eARTh e-mag is grateful of concept development funding by Moreton RADF (Regional Arts Development Fund) and Arts Queensland. inspired art

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Leah Barclay recording in Seoul for Sound Mirrors.

Photography by Hylim Kim

Balance-Unbalance At a �me when the world is experiencing unprecedented ecological threats, the Balance-Unbalance Interna�onal Conference 2013 is a global ini�a�ve designed to harness the talents of innovators working at the forefront of the arts, science and technology, together with community leaders, to explore how a trans-disciplinary approach can be applied to achieving a sustainable future.

By Leah Barclay @leahbarclay

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Balance-Unbalance is an Interna�onal Conference designed to use art as a catalyst to explore intersec�ons between nature, science, technology and society as we move into an era of both unprecedented ecological threats and transdisciplinary possibili�es.

Unbalance explores how art can be a catalyst to develop new ways to think and act in this age of ecological uncertainty.

The concept for ‘Balance-Unbalance’ was developed by Dr Ricardo Dal Farra, an ar�st and academic based in Canada with the main goal to develop the role of the arts and ar�sts in dealing with environmental challenges and transdisciplinary possibili�es. Dr Dal Farra is Co-Chairing the 2013 event and is ac�vely involved in a range of ini�a�ves that have developed through Balance-Unbalance.

The previous events held in Argen�na in 2010 and Montreal in 2011 provided a powerful pla�orm for reflec�on, debate, and ideas leading towards Balance-Unbalance 2013, hosted in the UNESCO Noosa Biosphere Reserve, a dynamic learning laboratory for sustainability in one of the most pris�ne and diverse environments in Australia.

While Noosa might be most well known interna�onally as a tourism des�na�on, it is advancing its profile as a place where people come to learn and be crea�ve. The BalanceUnbalance Interna�onal Conference is a landmark event for the region, building on our reputa�on as a hub of green 8

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art and community ac�on. This will be the first �me the Balance-Unbalance Conference will be conducted in the Asia-Pacific region. On this occasion it will be bringing together a dynamic and diverse range of presenters and delegates from 24 countries – including ar�sts, scien�sts, ac�vists, philosophers, sociologists, architects and engineers.

The 2013 conference theme: “Future Nature, Future Culture[s]” aims to challenge our expecta�ons of Earth, provoke our understanding of nature and inspire our ac�ons for a sustainable future. What we will be calling nature in 20, 50 or 100 years? How we will live in the future? What do we foresee for the future of human kind? How could crea�vity help us shape a society of understanding and interconnectedness? What role could transdisciplinary thought and ac�on play in reimagining a sustainable future? Will there be a future with peaceful knowledgeable socie�es and a rich variety of cultures?

What can first na�on knowledge teach us about our future?

There are infinite ques�ons and limited answers, but we have the opportunity to use our intelligence and crea�vity to make posi�ve changes.

Balance-Unbalance asks us to consider what we want for ourselves, our families, our friends, and for the future of humankind. This complex universe, vastly unknown, has been revealing that all is interconnected. Timothy Morton states that everything is connected into a vast, intertangling “mesh” that flows through all dimensions of life. No person, no animal, no object or idea can exist independently. Our limited knowledge of life can be expanded, but to do so we need better ways to understand each other. This includes a deeper awareness of how different human societies can comprehend cultural differences and synergies. There is a dramatic need for a paradigm shift and we need to act now if we are going to survive as a species.

We want to inspire explora�ons of how ar�sts can par�cipate in this major challenge of our ecological crisis.

We need to use crea�ve tools and transdisciplinary ac�on to create perceptual, intellectual and pragma�c changes. We want to discuss our proposals for the future from a diversity of cultural perspec�ves and socio-economic situa�ons with open minds.

Balance-Unbalance seeks to bring ar�sts together with scien�sts, economists, philosophers, poli�cians, sociologists, engineers, management and policy experts with the intent of harnessing crea�ve thinking to facilitate a paradigm shi� for a sustainable future. This future is not an indulgent utopia we desire, but a ma�er of survival.

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Detail from Reeds, Environmental Environmental Reeds, Floa� ng Land, 2011, Floa�ng Land, Photograph Raoul2011, Photograph Raoul Slater.

Slater.

Striking Balance eARTh dedicates this issue to the Balance Unbalance Interna�onal Conference and salutes the team of organisers and expert minds to converge on Australian shores.

By Sandra Conte

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Dr. Ricardo Dal Farra , Founder, Balance Unbalance Interna�onal Conference, Media Launch, Balance-Unbalance 2013.

a �me when there are a number of like-minded conferences happening ‘down under’, Balance Unbalance Interna�onal Conference, 2013, sets the ball rolling in the pris�ne Noosa Biosphere.

Like the parallel Floa�ng Land Fes�val, forums are created and found. Importantly, such convergences bring to the table a demonstra�on of tasks and strategies for crea�vely tackling posi�ve global change.

Keynote speakers of Balance Unbalance will lead the talk about crea�ve focussed solu�ons around the theme of “Future Nature, Future Culture[s]” while eARTh emag is also looking for genera�on x-z’s responses.

The Balance Unbalance 2013 Program features 120 presenters, three keynote panels, 12 Pecha Kucha presenta�ons, 60 papers, 25 performances/ installa�ons and 30 panels/trans-disciplinary ac�vi�es.

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With forums and speakers deba�ng the best way forward, eARTh’s young adult social media reporter, Zandalee will be live-twee�ng and invi�ng discussion on two of the panel sessions with eARTh’s ques�ons matched to the official panel sessions: eARTh Q Are we all fried and how do we tough it out?

Tony Fry (Australia) and Michael Tuffery (New Zealand) will be presen�ng answers along with Fee Plumley (Australia) around the first panel Chaired by Leah Barclay en�tled, What is the future for humans, how will we live?

eARTh Q How do we guard our future and avoid tragedy if we’re all poles apart in our thinking?

Ramón Guardans (Spain), Nina Czegledy (Canada) will present alongside Andrea Polli (USA), Chaired by Ricardo Dal Farra in Panel 2 as to What is the role of trans-disciplinary thinking and art/science collabora�ons in moving thinking about humanity forward?

Tweet with us: twi�er.com/eARTh_emag

keynote speakers >> Ramon Guardans, Oceans of Air, Floa�ng Land 2011 Photograph by Raoul Slater.

Fee Plumley (Australia) is an ar�st, crea�ve producer, consultant, speaker, blogger and self confessed techno-evangelist with a Masters in Interac�ve Mul�media Produc�on and (trans)media arts prac�ce as a crea�ve producer, combining technology, performance and literature.

Co-founder of UK based company the-phone-book Limited (20002008), Fee was best known for encouraging people to be crea�ve with their mobile phones. Now on a ‘reallybigroadtrip’, around Australia in her ‘bus’ blogging, twee�ng and teaching, Fee awaits the arrival of the Na�onal Broadband Network and the chance to endorse its wealth of crea�ve opportunity across Australia.

Nina Czegledy Award winning media ar�st, curator and educator Nina works interna�onally on collabora�ve art and science/ technology projects, as well as in educa�on. She has led, workshops, forums and fes�vals around the world, is published widely in books and journals and has presented at several interna�onal conferences and academic ins�tu�ons.

Nina’s keynote will explore the role of community in transdiciplinary ac�on and provide a series of case studies (including SCANZ in New Zealand).

Ramon Guardans (Spain) - Ar�st and scien�st Ramon Guardans traces pollutants and their effect on local and global popula�ons, health and environments and examines the relevance of different ways of life in understanding exposure. He has been involved for 20 years in interna�onal ac�on on atmospheric and marine pollu�on including the Stockholm Conven�on on Persistent Organic Pollutants (POPs) and the Arc�c Monitoring and Assessment Program (AMAP). Ramon’s keynote will provoke new ways of understanding Atmospheric and Marine Pollu�on through art and trans-disciplinary thinking.

Michel Tuffery (New Zealand) An ar�st of Samoan, Rarotongan and Tahi�an heritage, Michel Tuffery on paper and by reputa�on is one of the seminal role players for visibility of Contemporary Pacific Island art locally and beyond the wider Pacific.

His crea�ve output is expansive as he is adept at all arts media, prin�ng, pain�ng and sculp�ng, and works collabora�vely with technicians and other art prac��oners to realise his performance and installa�on projects, requiring moving image, light and sound. His concerns are measured and poli�cised around the conserva�on of the environment and shaped by his Pacific Island ancestry. www.micheltuffery.co.nz

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Tony Fry (Australia) is Professor of Design Futures at Griffith University, Queensland College of Art, Brisbane, Australia. He is also an award-winning designer, a theorist, a farmer, and director of a project developing an academy of Indigenousbased crea�ve prac�ces in East Timor. The author of nine books, Tony is regarded as one of the most progressive thinkers on design in the world today. Of his acclaimed book, Design as Poli�cs, a reviewer commented: “To say it’s ‘�mely’ is an understatement. Fry offers us one of the most prescient theses for the design of a different possible future.” Tony Fry’s keynote will focus around the concept of the ‘Future of the Human’, future se�lement and exploring exactly what will need to change and how we ‘create’ it.

Andrea Polli (USA) is a digital media ar�st living in New Mexico. She is currently working in collabora�on with atmospheric scien�sts to develop systems for understanding storm and climate through sound (called sonifica�on). A member of the steering commi�ee for New York 2050, a wide-reaching project envisioning the future of the New York City region, Andrea worked with city planners, environmental scien�sts, historians and other experts to look at the impact of climate on the future of human life both locally and globally. Andrea will present her prac�ce and key projects including ‘Par�cle Falls’. This project creates visual waterfalls drawing on real-�me data about the atmosphere.

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For more informa�on on keynote speakers go to www.balanceunbalance2013.org/keynotes.html

Par�cle Falls by Andrea Polli and Chuck Varga with the Social Media Workgroup

Living Smart

Creative Development onsite in the Narmada Valley, North India, Photograph by Shakthi Sivanathan

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The DAM(N) Project The DAM(N) Project is a large-scale interdisciplinary arts project that connects Australian and Indian communi�es around the common concern of global water security.

By Leah Barclay

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project was conceived and developed by Sydney based producer Jehan Kanga, Queensland based composer Leah Barclay, and Shakthi Sivanathan, the director of Curious Works.

It presents the lives of remote communi�es in the Narmada Valley of North India, displaced by large-scale dam development securing hydropower for Indian ci�es.

The construc�on of large dams on the River Narmada and its impact on millions of people living in the river valley has become one of the most important social issues in contemporary India. This holis�c project integrates innova�ve technology, diverse community perspec�ves and true stories of resilience to create an immersive mul�-sensory performance involving original composi�ons, digital projec�ons and two dancers.

The DAM(N) Project explores the cultural significance of water and contrasts the strikingly similar experiences around water management in Australia and India. Water scarcity is a significant issue for both Australia and India and the issue of controlling and managing hydrological systems is extremely poli�cised in both countries due to the cultural and economic significance of these systems.

The DAM(N) Project wish to contrast the strikingly similar experiences in Australia and India around water management and showcase the value of music, digital technology and crea�ve collabora�ons as a framework to inspire change, ac�vism and ul�mately a future where these communi�es will have a voice.

Capacity building workshops with the children of the Narmada Valley, Photographs by Shakthi Sivanathan

The first stage of this intercultural project was supported by the Australia Council for the Arts and involved working directly with remote communi�es in the Narmada Valley of North India. In the ini�al phase the team collaborated with A�akalari, India’s inspired art

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leading contemporary dance company who selected two dancers, Meghna Nambiar and Sylvester Mardi, to par�cipate in the field research and create site-specific choreography onsite. Shakthi Sivanathan and Leah Barclay facilitated workshops and collected a rich diversity of audio-visual material and Jehan Kanga interviewed the key ac�vists involved in the Narmada Protests, now recognised as one of the most important social issues in contemporary India.

The DAM(N) project uses the many viewpoints and the living culture in the affected areas as building blocks for the crea�ve process for an immersive audio-visual dance installa�on.

The first major outcome from The DAM(N) Project has been supported by Arts Queensland and is touring Australia in 2013, premiering at the ENCOUNTERS: India Fes�val in May 2013 in Brisbane, Queensland followed by a site-specific residency on Lake Cootharaba in the UNESCO Noosa Biosphere Reserve as part of Floa�ng Land Fes�val 2013. The DAM(N) Project team will then a�end ISEA2013 to present a panel on the crea�ve development of this intercultural project.

Ul�mately The DAM(N) project is designed to connect global communi�es around the common concern of global water security and reveal the ramifica�ons of damming rivers that hold cultural and spiritual significance for indigenous communi�es world-wide.

This first stage of The DAM(N) Project highlights the validity of community engagement, social ac�vism and digital technology in environmentally engaged interdisciplinary art prac�ce. While the ini�al stage is focused on the rela�onship between Australian and India, the long-term vision for The DAM(N) Project expands into other communi�es and cultures worldwide.

www.thedamnproject.com

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Creative Development onsite in the Narmada Valley, North India. Photograph by Shakthi Sivanathan

Creative Development onsite in the Narmada Valley, North India.

Photograph

by Shakthi Sivanathan.

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Collaborating on concerns

Team Spirit The Australian based con�ngent of The Dam(n) Project are ac�ve in their ongoing role with what has become a world theme we should all be passionate about – WATER!

By Sandra Conte

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The Dam(n) Project, you may have already encountered this engaging team as part of the Interna�onal World Water Day Symposium held in March 2013. If you missed it, eARTh has scored some excerpts from the Abstract to their joint paper ‘which complements The Dam(n) Project ar�cle by Leah Barclay’.

Their teamwork provides food for thought about intercultural projects engaging with remote, Indigenous communi�es, something our African connec�on, Richard Field observes in the ‘Field Work’ story. These are great arm chair experiences for our readers to sense that the spirit of resilience is as vital to survival in these communi�es as is water.

The DAM(N) Project: The validity of community engagement, social ac�vism and digital technology in environmentally engaged interdisciplinary art prac�ce.

Such was the �tle of the abstract for The Dam(n) Project team’s paper. While the conceptual and development work for The Dam(n) project was undertaken by the Australian resident team of Sydney based producer Jehan Kanga, Queensland based composer Leah Barclay and Shakthi Sivanathan, the director of Curious Works in Sydney, the next phase of the project shows the direct engagement with the remote communi�es of the Narmada Valley in North India.

By raising the issue of communi�es displaced by largescale dams securing hydropower for Indian ci�es the team paper stated, “The construc�on of large dams on the River

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Narmada and its impact on millions of people living in the river valley has become one of the most important social issues in contemporary India”. Collabora�on with A�akalari, India’s leading contemporary dance company to take dancers into the field research with site-specific choreography is a highly engaging spectacle made possible for us to witness through the stunning photos by Shakthi Sivanathan also gracing the first cover of this inaugural edi�on of eARTh e-mag.

The Dam(n) Project team’s gathering of diverse audiovisual material, interviewing of key ac�vists involved in the Narmada Protests and facilita�on of workshops in digital technology and dance for the local community is rich and inspira�onal. Incorpora�ng living culture and the crea�ve process to build a framework to raise concern about the significance of water scarcity has taken this project to the world stage. Such intercultural ac�vity highlights an issue of commonality for not only Australia and India. As the teams’ Abstract paper strongly advocates, “We wish to contrast the strikingly similar experiences in Australia and India around water management and showcase the value of digital technology and crea�ve collabora�ons as a framework to inspire change, ac�vism and ul�mately a future where these communi�es will have a voice. The ar�s�c outcomes range from immersive installa�ons to dance produc�ons all underpinned by the idea that innova�ve art is both a tool for community empowerment and cultural change”.

Now, that’s a world vision with legs!

The Dam(n) Project Team LEAH BARCLAY

JEHAN KANGA

Leah Barclay is an award winning composer, sound ar�st and curator working at the intersec�on of art, science, technology and the environment. Her work has been commissioned, performed and exhibited to wide acclaim across Australia, New Zealand, Canada, USA, Europe, India, China and Korea. Barclay’s adventurous nature has led her to complete projects on the floor of the Australian ocean, desolate lava caves in New Zealand, the Amazon Jungle and the evoca�ve backwaters of South India. She is passionate about the role interdisciplinary art can play in community empowerment, social ac�vism and cultural change.

Jehan Kanga is an interdisciplinary ar�s�c director, crea�ve producer, mul�-instrumentalist and associate ar�s�c director with The Song Company. Jehan is also a published researcher in materials chemistry and is undertaking a PhD researching photonic, electronic and magne�c proper�es of new high porosity coordina�on framework materials. His scien�fic research comes from his interest in the intersec�on between science and art, and the rela�onship those fields have with major social and environmental movements par�cularly the issue of energy and water scarcity and impact this has on communi�es around the world.

SHAKTHI SIVANATHAN As its Director, Shakthi Sivanathan has led CuriousWorks to deliver a series of crea�ve ini�a�ves that have had sustainable and innova�ve outcomes for all Australians.

His first ini�a�ve was The Migrant Project, which brought together 40 Sydneysiders with cultural and ar�s�c ancestries from across the globe. All of this work has focused on respec�ul collabora�on with some of Australia’s most marginalised communi�es and the ongoing sharing of contemporary, untold, Australian stories through tradi�onal and digital distribu�on methods.

The Dam(n) Project team onsite in the Narmada Valley, North India.

Photograph by Shakthi Sivanathan.

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Review Water Wheel Contributed by Suzon Fuks On 22-23 March 2013, more than 100 scien�sts, ar�sts, academics and ac�vists from five con�nents presented innova�ve and informa�ve works and performances in the second edi�on of Waterwheel World Water Day Symposium.

The symposium aimed to raise awareness of water, and to foster rela�onships between research, professions and the arts, and partnerships between universi�es, organisa�ons in the field of water and land management, and members of society in general. This year’s theme was ‘Water Memories and Tomorrow’s Landscapes’.

The symposium took place on Waterwheel, an internet pla�orm dedicated to Water as a topic and metaphor, as well as in seven “nodes” (physical venues hos�ng some presenters and screening part of the programme to local audiences) in Australia, Hong Kong, Tunisia, USA and Argen�na.

Audience met and ques�oned museum and conference directors, ar�sts from across performing-visual-and new media arts, contemporary thinkers and researchers in water sciences. A par�cularly memorable moment was a spontaneous jam between Carna�c singer Mahesh Vinayakram in Chennai, India, and percussionist Ricardo A. Coelho de Souza on David Ikard’s Água Eletrônica drum, in Oakland, USA.

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DID YOU KNOW

Water Sculpture, Steve Weis, Photograph by Raoul Slater, 2011.

Waterwheel

It takes 3 litres of water to make 1 sheet of A4 paper and 12,000 litres to make 500 grams of chocolate!

Waterwheel is a collabora�ve online venue for streaming, mixing and sharing media and ideas about water. It is free and accessible on a webpage with just a click. Its structure, based on democracy and social jus�ce, allows anyone to make and manage their own projects, independently, in private or public, locally or globally.

Its community mobilises and intersects as conscious ci�zens sharing responsibili�es about water as a common good, crucial for the development and management of the global village, which will be facing more and more issues rela�ng to water access, quality and impact, due to climate change, poli�cal and corporate interests, and shi�ing popula�ons.

Waterwheel’s main features are: - a repository of user-generated content: media, text and data about water, ‘the Media Centre’ - which puts people in contact with each other through comments - a �meline/map indica�ng water events, ‘Fountains’ - used for info, promo�on and archives - a videoconferencing/media mixing system, ‘the Tap’- the main tool for presenta�ons, performances, mash-ups, workshops & forums www.water-wheel.net/how-it-works inspired art

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Carbon Arts

Crea�ve solu�ons for a changing climate Jodi Newcombe, Founding Director of Carbon Arts, works with ar�sts the world over on crea�ve projects that seek to contribute to a more sustainable future. Jodi works collabora�vely with notables such Andrea Polli, who is a keynote speaker at Balance unbalance 2013, and Natalie Jeremijenko, both leaders in their field and specialists in ar�s�c responses to environmental challenges. Jodi is well situated to facilitate an increased role for ar�sts in genera�ng awareness and ac�on on climate change, given her background as an environmental engineer, and economist and with a history in consul�ng to interna�onal business and government.

Jodi will be presen�ng a Pecha Kucha on Carbon Arts and a conference paper at Balance Unbalance 2013 en�tled ‘Echology: Making Sense of Data’, a public art ini�a�ve developed in partnership between Carbon Arts and ANAT fostering innova�ve prac�ce at the intersect of data, sustainability and public art.

Jodi will touch on the first outcome of the project which was the commissioning by Lend Lease of Natalie Jeremijenko’s The Mussel Choir at the Melbourne Docklands development. Jodi states, “This work realises ar�st Natalie Jeremijenko’s concept for a public artwork that uses mussels to represent – through the engaging medium of song - the real-�me water quality of the Melbourne Docklands’ aqua�c ecosystem”.

Unpacking the concept, Jodi explains, “The Melbourne Mussel Choir can play music anywhere because of the open data pla�orm we’re using – anyone can download and jam with the choir’s data (which is the movement of the mussel shells – their ‘gape’ – an indicator of water quality, or as the ar�st, Natalie Jeremijenko calls it: ‘the quali�es of water’). The mussels will also be on twi�er, facebook and instagram”

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“At the heart of our prac�ce is the belief that crea�vity is essen�al in making the transi�on to a more sustainable society, and that the journey should be playful, fun and rewarding.”

Jodi Newcombe, Director, Carbon Arts.

Jodi is also excited about mee�ng up with Natalie in Sydney for the City Data Slam a part of an innova�ve new project of Carbon Arts with the City of Sydney called ‘Sensing Sydney: communica�ng sustainability through the arts, open data and public space’.

The City Data Slam takes place at ISEA2013, the interna�onal symposium on electronic arts that is in Sydney this year where Natalie Jeremijenko will be joined with 10 other ar�sts, including Andrea Polli to generate new dialogues and ci�zen-engaged ac�on on environmental issues in public space. ISEA registered par�cipants can join the Slam which will culminate in a show and tell on Sunday 16 June at 3pm. And then, next up, there will be a Sensing Sydney public art commission showing at Art & About in Sydney this September-October.

For further informa�on go to www.carbonarts.org/ or to hear more from Jodi Newcombe stay tuned for the eARTh interview with Carbon Arts in our October issue.

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ART AWARDS ACHIEVE AWARENESS

The Noosa Biosphere Art Prize Green art awards are a powerful tool for raising environmental awareness.

The Noosa Biosphere Art Prize is one such case and recipients for different categories in 2012, its inaugural year, are Bark Lab and Lenni Semmelink.

As part of their award, the ar�sts are showing at Floa�ng Land 2013 with their respec�ve projects en�tled ‘Growth’ and ‘Earthsong’.

By Sandra Conte

Lindy Atkin, Bark Design Architects on Bark Studio Site 2001, looks to the future Photograph Stephen Guthrie.

‘Growth’ by Bark Lab – was Inspired by the sunlight, which provides ‘growth’ to nature. The project comprises a series of three physical constructs that aim to lightly ‘frame’ or celebrate one’s experience of nature and provide an inextricable link to the landscape through sunlight and shadow pa�erns.

Lindy Atkin and Stephen Guthrie of Bark Lab state, “Based on the premise that ‘nature grows’, our work, with audience par�cipa�on, will grow and transform during the course of the exhibi�on. From the manmade to the organic and back, we will be developing a system or kit of parts which allows the construc�on of these ‘frames’ of reference to be par�cipatory, loose fit, organic and somewhat random in outcome but with dis�nct biological inspired origins”.

Bark Lab as the research and design collabora�ve of Bark Design Architects are pleased to have been selected through the Noosa Biosphere Art Prize, as a Lead Ar�st for Floa�ng Land 2013. Through the support of the Noosa Biosphere, Bark Lab proposed to expand their crea�ve collec�ve to work alongside Sideways Films to create a short documentary describing the design process, fabrica�on/construc�on and community par�cipa�on process in the crea�on of ‘Growth.’ The intent of the documentary and associated visual media was to be made available for an online audience or web streaming events inspired art

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ART AWARDS ACHIEVE AWARENESS throughout the filming/making, capturing and projec�ng the collabora�ve making process, invi�ng a wider audience to view and par�cipate in ‘Growth’ at the Floa�ng Land fes�val 2013.

www.barkdesign.com.au/bark-lab www.facebook.com/GrowthByBark

‘Earthsong’ creates an immersive space enhancing the human experience of the natural world through amplified sounds of the local environment and using visual cyma�c projec�ons (naturally occurring geometric pa�erns representa�ve of sound vibra�ons) into the environment, onto the trees and set amongst outdoor, na�ve plants.

As outlined in the Floa�ng Land Fes�val program, Lenni’s ‘Earthsong’ project has two parts to its experience. First, it is an interac�ve space - people nearby will hear the amplified natural sounds and as they enter the space they will hear their own impact on the area – they will hear their footsteps and hear the effects of when they touch the plants. Second, the space is used as a performance area. The audience will be given a short talk about the space and how it works. This will be followed by a performance of percussionists ‘playing’ the trees and ground (with light touches and taps). Anyone wan�ng to dance to these earthly sounds will also become a part of the soundscape through their movement on the ground.

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For further informa�on go to the Floa�ng Land program for Lenni’s installa�on and performances on Saturday June 1@1-4pm, Wednesday June 5 @1-4pm, 6-7pm, and Saturday June 8 @ 1-4pm Lake Cootharaba Foreshore, Boreen Point, Queensland, Australia.

Lenni is an interdisciplinary ar�st and states, “My work is of what’s around me, to promote apprecia�on and belonging, a sharing of culture, resourcefulness (I use a lot of recycled materials in my work and life)”.

www.lenni.com.au Click here for the Floa�ng Land program.

The Noosa Biosphere Art Prize The mission of the Noosa Biosphere Art Prize is to highlight innova�ve green art, including interdisciplinary work which encourages social change. The inaugural Noosa Biosphere Art Prize 2012 was established by the Noosa Biosphere Cultural Board as a way to recognise the incredible diversity of Green Art, (which refers to any crea�ve project which expresses and responds to the natural environment), produced in that region and the role art can play is crea�ng a sustainable future.

The Cultural Board will soon be invi�ng applica�ons from crea�ve thinkers with processes u�lising art as the tool of change towards addressing the global ecological crisis.

For further informa�on and details of eligibility go to www.noosabiosphere.org/artprize

L-R: ‘Lashing Prototypes’ BarkLab, Sketch of ‘Growth’ site (B&W) BarkLab, Growth Prototyping’ (B&W) BarkLab

Video s�ll of Lenni Semmelink from shorts recorded by James Muller

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‘Wandering Thirst’, Boreen Point, Lake Cootharaba, Floa�ng Land 2009.

Photography Bev Jenson.

ART AWARDS ACHIEVE AWARENESS

Wandering Thirst Where will we be in fi�y years?

Such age old ques�ons are being responded to by ar�sts and, in doing so, Corrie Wright and Tamara Kirby took out the inaugural Truth in Art award for Wandering Thirst, a project of Floa�ng Land 2009.

By Sandra Conte

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ART AWARDS ACHIEVE AWARENESS

environmental and ecological concerns through their prac�ces, Tamara and Corrie collaborated, proving that some�mes two heads are be�er than one. Up against more than one hundred submissions, the ar�sts’ project met the challenge of interpre�ng the rela�onship between people, parks and the “inconvenient truth” of climate change that is affec�ng the environment and the health and wellbeing of society.

As a winning combina�on, through their mutual passion for visual communica�on and collabora�on in rela�on to the environment, Corrie and Tamara considered the issue of water via large perspex caravan shapes bejewelled with cast resin water drops. The posi�oning in and across the lake of these perspex facades implied a journey, a story of water around the theme of “rising seas, changing climate”. A viewing booth constructed of water bo�les and posi�oned on the shore encouraged people to enter that space and take up the provided binoculars to interrogate the installa�on in detail and ponder the issue of the world’s water.

On learning of their Award success, as revealed on their Blog pos�ng, Corrie and Tamara released the statement that, “This Award allows for the acknowledgment of ‘art in the environment’ and its importance. For us, the Award reinforces our belief in the capacity of contemporary art to connect with others in different ways. Many thanks to Parks Victoria and everyone involved in the Truth in Art

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Award, we commend the visionaries in the organisa�on who understand the impact of art. We are both passionate ar�sts and passionate environmentalists working collabora�vely in our own art prac�ces and in the community sector.”

As this project proves, some�mes we need to look back to look forward and by revisi�ng the past Floa�ng Land project, which also references adapta�on as a means of addressing climate change, we are reminded of the ongoing relevancy of water security throughout �me and space.”

The Wandering Thirst project is documented at www.tkirbycwright.blogspot.com where you can view the images, processes, research and sponsorship (for instance UAP – Urban Art Projects – made the steel framing); the perspex the ar�sts designed and helped fabricate as caravans faces at ASAP Plas�cs Caloundra; it was then cast by the ar�sts who personally and painstakingly a�ached all the cast resin drops. The magnitude of the project and its many processes are tes�mony to the ar�sts’ joint commitment to capturing the importance of climate change and water security in the knowledge that what happens to the world’s water affects us all - in other words, it is both public and personal.

The crea�ve interac�vity of ar�sts and audience in ‘Wandering Thirst’ underscores the relevancy of collabora�on to adapta�on and survival, bringing a whole new level of meaning and genera�ng awareness, as to the value and worthwhileness of ‘loving thy neighbour’.

ART AWARDS ACHIEVE AWARENESS

‘Wandering Thirst’, a confron�ngly, seduc�ve installa�on with its spectre of silver, staggered caravan facades recessing across a lake, as if spaceships bathed in an Armageddon light, beckons us to consider survival techniques. - Sandra Conte

Corrie by Raoul Slater, 2009.

Tamara and Corrie, 2009, Photograph by Adam Sebas�an West.

Tamara by Raoul Slater, 2009.

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Virginia King, Cradle of Life, Floa�ng Land, 2009, Photograph by Raoul Slater

Features of Floating Land The 10 Day Floa�ng Land Fes�val, a biennale running May 31 to June 9, 2013 presents a sea of talent; It provides a forum for dialogue and innova�ve thinking with a swathe of ar�sts addressing environmental issues for visitors to see and experience.

Floa�ng Land, a Sunshine Coast Council ini�a�ve, was originally conceived by former Noosa Gallery Director, Kevin Wilson, in 2001 as an outdoor sculpture exhibi�on. It has gone from strength to strength, now proudly standing in its seventh itera�on, incorpora�ng a range of art forms - presenta�ons and interac�ve ac�vi�es, wri�en and spoken word, story telling, poetry, tradi�onal and contemporary dance, film screenings, sa�re, visual art exhibi�ons, studio trails, weaving workshops and concerts.

The 2013 theme of ‘Nature’s Dialogue’ encourages ar�sts (local and interna�onal) and community

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to explore the science of nature and its ingenuity through immersive workshops, performances, installa�ons and presenta�ons that celebrate biodiversity, merging arts and culture with science and the environment. This thema�c framework is drawn from ‘biomimicry’, bringing the science of nature deeply into the conversa�on and providing a powerful pla�orm for the crea�ve industries, science, technology and culture to enter simultaneously.

A rich forum for contribu�ng to posi�ve global change through educa�on and conversa�ons, Floa�ng Land champions environmental awareness through the arts u�lising processes and materials without adverse environmental impact.

There are also virtual global pla�orms so ‘world-away’ ar�sts, academics and communi�es can par�cipate from a distance. The ar�s�c diversity offered through this digital interface presents a range of interac�ve and engaging experiences while conveying the messages of these conversa�ons, ideas and visions.

See more of the Floa�ng Land ar�sts throughout this edi�on of eARTh e-mag which has been accorded partnership status to the event.

Stillness and the Moving Words from composer Andrew Vievers...

Inspired by the Floa�ng Land fes�val theme of Nature’s Dialogue, I wanted to explore the structural nuances of a simple conversa�on. Of course, even simple conversa�ons are never all that simple or straight forward. Not really.

There are always subtle layers of meaning; humour, sadness, gentle advice, hidden disappointment, teasing innuendo, a li�le whisper for help.

So, even upon my first inves�ga�on of the theme, and how it might manifest itself in a piece of music, the apparent simplicity of one conversa�on revealed the reality of many conversa�ons - between the flora and the fauna, between day and night, between mother nature and us pesky humans, between the physical senses and the imagina�on, and maybe even the ul�mate li�le chat - between all of the above and �me.

The composi�onal style and instrumenta�on that I chose to use for this piece are a symbolic representa�on of many of these themes. The short percussive sounds of the marimbas evoke the scampering, flu�ering, scratching, digging, and general business of wildlife - the insects, crabs, birds, bugs, and even humans going about their life, while the long, sustained notes and phrases of the strings represent the rising and se�ng of the sun and moon and the slow, powerful and inevitable growth of plant life; constantly reaching.

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These abstract no�ons are brought more clearly into focus and unified by the human voice, with lyrics drawn from the poem’s ‘Five Senses’ by Judith Wright and ‘Time” by Nate Hawk.

To further my inves�ga�on of the no�on of a dialogue, I have both combined elements of the composi�onal ideas of minimalism within a simple binary form, as well as included a conversa�on within the orchestra�on; both within the voices of each ensemble as well as between the ensembles themselves.

Finally, this piece is intended as an underscore or accompaniment to the artworks and the natural se�ng that they’re both inspired by, drawn from, and will be located in, during this year’s fes�val.

A recording of the composi�on will also be available as a download from Floa�ng Land website.

Cries across the water The inimitable musician and composer, Linsey Pollak, ‘provided a preview sample of his ‘Cries across the water’ Floa�ng Land performance at the recent media launch of that fes�val.

Linsey Pollak performs a preview of ‘Cries across the water’, Floa�ng Land 2013 fes�val media launch.

Photograph Sandra Conte.

As a�endees looked out across the Noosa River, engaged in quietude and contempla�on as to those amazing creatures in our animal kingdom facing ex�nc�on, Linsey summoned individual sounds of a selec�on of endangered species as if from the depths of the river. Calling out were the Houston Toad of Texas, the northern gastric brooding frog of Eungella, the black rhino and crested gibbon, among others.

The program bill for the Floa�ng Land lists the Crested Gibbon, Black Rhino, Carnaby’s Cockatoo, Kroombit Tinker Frog and more as part of the fes�val performances. At the outset of each concert, Linsey introduces and honours each by their natural call, and acknowledges their status as to whether being vulnerable, endangered or ex�nct as well as detailing their geographic loca�on.

A performer who gives his audience the �me, space and inclina�on to engage with the emo�on required and to be afforded to these magnificent creatures, this is a musical encounter of another realm, incorpora�ng live looping and tuned sound samples.

Head down for sundown to Dunns Beach, looking across Lake Cootharaba, Queensland, Australia, on Sunday June 2, Wednesday, June 5 and Friday, June 7 from 5-5.45pm – be prepared to return to every performance as ‘Cries across the water’ beckons repeat audiences. inspired art

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Photography

Through the Lens Raoul Slater shares with eARTh what it is like to photograph a fes�val such as Floa�ng Land, again and again.

By Sandra Conte

Firing Didj in the Water, Floa�ng Land Fes�val, 2009

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the Floa�ng Land arts fes�val may well be the best gig a photographer could ever have.

I have worked the last three – ’07, ’09, and ’11 – and am keenly an�cipa�ng this year’s celebra�ons because of the unlimited brief I will be given, the unrestricted access I will have to par�cipants in the workshops, and because of the excep�onal works that will be created.

When working at the scenic Boreen Point fes�val site, I’m just as likely to become intrigued by a bird or a fungus as I am by one of the sculptures. The organizers appear to be delighted with any photo I take, whether it is of the event or the environment. In fact, they seem happier seeing me down in the dirt stalking a toadstool or stripped to my budgies in the water a�er an egret than when I am making a record of one of the works of art.

Par�cipants in the fes�val’s workshops (or their guardians, in the case of school children) sign photographic waivers.

Essen�ally a bird photographer with li�le experience making human portraits, I have come to appreciate the freedom the waivers bestow. I can treat people like birds, sniping away at the edges of workshops with a long lens and tripod, capturing flee�ng expressions of delight or delinquency as they pass across the faces of enthralled students.

As for the art pieces, they never fail to challenge and inspire.

The se�ng helps tremendously – the changing moods and light of the lake can turn a single sculpture into a kaleidoscope of works. Two months out from the fes�val I have been going to “camera-gym”: prac�cing new techniques with which to capture the nuances. Light pain�ng, join-ups, neutral density filters, black and white conversions, large format prin�ng – I plan to be ready.

>> Overpage, Raoul shares selec�on of shots from his extensive record of Floa�ng Land.

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James Muller, Ship of Fools Floa�ng Land Fes�val, 2011 Egret Splashing, Floa�ng Land Fes�val, 2011 Hidden Land Dance Moves, Floa�ng Land Fes�val, 2011

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Mamori Sound Project - Amazon Rainforest, 2011 (Leah Barclay)

In John Cage’s pivotal 1937 talk �tled The Future of Music: Credo, he said, “I believe that the use of noise to make music will con�nue and increase un�l we reach a music produced through the aid of electrical instruments which will make available for musical purposes any and all sounds that can be heard” (Cage, 1937).

By Leah Barclay @leahbarclay

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2013 Cage’s visionary genius is clearly evident with a musical world of infinite possibili�es aided by technology.

The drama�c advancement of technology has truly cul�vated a paradigm shi� in how ar�sts interact in both physical and virtual worlds. These changes have evolved and expanded our tools of expression but most importantly they have opened the ability to communicate at a higher level in an interdisciplinary context.

In a recent addi�on of Musicworks, Joel Chadabe stated that the current ar�s�c prac�ces of electroacous�c composers are rooted in the idea that new technologies, unlike tradi�onal musical instruments, can produce sounds used to communicate core messages, including informa�on about the state of our environment. He claims that we are all par�cipa�ng in the emergence of a new type of music accessible to anyone, which can be used to communicate ideas that relate more closely to life than those communicated through tradi�onal musical forms.

He believes we need to think of ourselves as “leaders in a magnificent revolu�on rather than the defenders of an isolate and besieged avant-garde” (Chadabe, 2011).

In a world where the catastrophic effects of climate change are rapidly becoming a bi�er reality, there must be a role for sound in genera�ng a shi� in consciousness. Bill McKibben recently said; “When art both of great worth, and in great quan��es, begins to cluster around an issue, it means that civiliza�on has iden�fied it finally as a threat” (McKibben, 2011). He views ar�sts as the an�bodies of the cultural bloodstream and fundamental to social change. As this social movement of crea�ve thinking expands interna�onally it is worth reflec�ng on A�ali’s seminal 1985 text where he

refers to music as not just simply a reflec�on of culture but a “harbinger of change”. He states, “For twenty-five centuries, western knowledge has tried to look upon the world. It has failed to understand that the world is not for the beholding.

It is for hearing. It is not legible, but audible” (A�ali, 1985).

World leaders are now looking towards the validity and possibili�es of crea�ve methodologies as tools for change, this presents both a challenge and an unprecedented opportunity for composers to gain a cri�cal understanding of the situa�on, and take ac�on in devising new processes for a sustainable future. Electroacous�c music, with the use of natural sounds, has a profound ability to ignite an awareness and connec�on to the environment. But is the role of the ar�st purely to comment on the crisis? To create awareness?

Or can provoca�on extend beyond expression to create a behavioral shi� in deeply engrained unsustainable ways of thinking?

There is undeniably a strong movement associated with environmental sound art emerging interna�onally. This is evident through the establishment of organisa�ons such as Ear to the Earth, the environmental program of the Electronic Music Founda�on. Ear to the Earth is a world-wide network of environmental sound ar�sts. The organisa�on promotes the work of ar�sts working crea�vely with environmental soundscapes across the world through www.eartotheearth.org. The core ac�vity of the network is the annual Ear to the Earth Fes�val that happens every October in New York with satellite events across the world.

Ear to the Earth also produces workshops in field recording, encourages and supports research rela�ng to the natural and urban environments and engages in other ac�vi�es

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that foster crea�vity, community, communica�on, and environmental awareness. Ul�mately, Ear to the Earth wants everybody to become a sound ar�st, to listen, to learn, to become engaged, and to create works that can be included in the Ear to the Earth network online.

Based on a ‘think globally, act locally’ strategy, the Ear to the Earth Network has as its goal to work at a grass roots level to encourage, support, and promote events that bring environmental ac�vists, scien�sts, musicians, ar�sts, and the public in all communi�es together in dialogues; to explore crea�ve formats that mix concert, conference, installa�on, and performance; and to foster engagement with environmental issues. The founder of the organisa�on, Joel Chadabe, states that; “Environmental sound art gives us a powerful way of connec�ng with the environment. As we be�er understand the world, we will be�er understand the state of the world. And our understanding of the state of the world will affect our personal ac�ons, our poli�cal ac�ons,

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and our communica�ons with others. Once engaged, we can learn.”

Environmental sound art is underpinned by the concepts of acous�c ecology, an outcome of the World Soundscape Project led by R. Murray Shafer at Simon Fraser University in the late 1960s. Schafer’s pivotal book The Tuning of the World, published in 1977, s�ll remains one of the seminal references for scholars today. The current acous�c ecology movement is driven by organisa�ons such as the World Forum for Acous�c Ecology (WFAE).

Founded in 1993, the WFAE is an interna�onal associa�on of affiliated organisa�ons and individuals in Europe, North America, Japan, and Australia that share a common concern with the state of the world’s soundscapes. The members of the organisa�on represent a mul�-disciplinary spectrum of individuals and collec�ves engaged in the study of the social, cultural and ecological aspects of the sonic environment. The core missions of the WFAE includes educa�on around listening,

research on the social, cultural and scien�fic aspects of the sonic environment and designing and crea�ng healthy and acous�cally balanced sonic environments.

In addi�on to these key organisa�on, a range of independent ar�sts and collec�vi�es are engaged in similarly important work engaging communi�es in listening experiences. Sonic Babylon, the crea�on of New York based ar�sts Nora Farrell and the late Bill Duckworth, is a prime example of innova�ve community engagement through sound. Riding local Wi-Fi networks, the Sonic Babylon sound gardens grow with music, sounds, and stories accessible on mobile devices in selected spaces within a community. The sound garden is interac�ve and can be both heard and manipulated by the community.

As visitors move through the garden, the Sonic Babylon applica�on tracks their posi�on in the space and the 3D audio engine generates a real-�me sound mix rela�ve to the loca�on of the planted sounds (h�p://www.sonicbabylon. com). Sound gardens have a diversity of posi�ve outcomes for a community including the ability to repurpose exis�ng digital content (such as oral history) and also the ability to observe a system, a virtual ecology, and hear what kind of voices and themes may arise. The key a�rac�on is its accessibility and versa�lity, and its ability to grow within a community over �me.

Now, more than ever before there is a cri�cal need to listen to our environment and generate a paradigm shi� that engages our auditory percep�on. Sound, as a crea�ve medium, is undoubtedly one of the most powerful means to s�mulate this shi� in consciousness. Environmental

sound art, with the use of natural sounds exposing the state of the world could be an unprecedented tool in ar�sts taking ac�on in ecological crisis. It is inspiring to see this movement expanding globally and now is a perfect �me to engage and connect with the ar�sts and organisa�on leading this movement. Fortunately, the accessibility of today’s technology means we can listen to the rainforests of Brazil and the wild storms of central Australia in real-�me from the comfort of our lounge room.

REFERENCES [1] John Cage: Silence, (Middletown, Connec�cut: Wesleyan University Press 1973).

[2] Joel Chadabe: “A call for avant-garde composers to make their work known to a larger public,” in Musicworks, edited by Micheline Roi (Toronto: Musicworks Society of Ontario Inc. 2011) 111: pp. 6.

[3] Bill Mckibben: “Four years a�er my pleading essay, climate art is hot,” in art in a changing climate, Grist (online): h�p://grist.org/ar�cle/2009-08-05-essay-climate-art-update-billmckibben (visited 28 May 2011).

[4] Jacques A�ali: Noise: the poli�cal economy of music, (Minneapolis: University of Minnesota Press 1985) [5] Sonic Babylon (online): h�p://sonicbabylon.com (visited 18 May 2012)

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Stephen Newton, sculptor, communes with his work at Caboolture Regional Art Gallery, Queensland, Australia, Photograph Peter Jendra.

Natural Companions

Sculptor Stephen Newton

by Elizabeth Bates

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Elizabeth Bates is a Brisbane based independent cultural program developer.

She has worked for many years in the visual arts and museum industry.

A collec�on of linear wooden structures sit silently on a bleak undula�ng plain.

Deliberately placed in this loca�on by the ar�st, they mark the landscape defiantly, but are perfectly in tune with their new found environment.

The installa�on is the work of Stephen Newton, a Brisbane (Australian) based sculptor.

evolu�on as an ar�st is closely connected to the intrinsic energy and beauty found in natural materials. His process is deliberate on many levels.

The raw materials he chooses are considered, transformed and relocated to permanent or transitory sites. Some works are confident and monumental in scale while others merely suggest elegant natural forms such as seed pods.

Throughout his 25 year career, wood has been Newton’s constant companion. He is respec�ully aware of its connec�on to the land and the inherent history it offers.

Choosing to work in hardwood, some of the hardest in the world, he deliberately forms works to the scale of the original �mber to respect and retain its essen�al life. The

material is o�en found or reclaimed, imbued with the ghosts of a life lived in the natural or human world.

For Newton the making of sculpture has always been about process and change. The techniques he uses in the studio emulate natural changes and are inspired by the processes that nature offers, its mul�ple rhythms and uncompromising forces. In reference to weathering process found in the natural world, surface and texture are elements of an essen�al considera�on. Blackened velvety exteriors are fashioned, as in nature, with fire, which Newton harnesses and manipulates. However the use of fire is not only about changing vegetable into mineral, but also the posi�ve and nega�ve associa�ons it has for us as humans.

This understanding of the rela�onship between man and nature is inherent in Newton’s sculptures. Forms stand in humanoid groupings, offer tac�le experiences at human scale and the ar�st is ever present in surfaces deliberately honed by hand. Yet these sculptures also respond to pa�erns in geology and geography, rising majes�cally upward in totemic form or quietly se�ling into the earth.

Newton has worked closely with nature on many occasions to produce site centred works. These works embody a philosophy of returning materials to their natural home with a breath of new life. There are �mes when he selects the loca�on and others when a place seeks him out.

Embedded is a desire for the sculptures to develop a symbio�c rela�onship with the chosen site and to explore the opportunity for mutual benefit as they gracefully age together.

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Publicly commissioned works have been the catalyst for the introduc�on of new natural materials, such as stone, into Newton’s working processes. Such commissions have also provided the opportunity to explore the rela�onships between human nature and natural and built environments. Many of these works are totemic in scale, but are meant for human acceptance and interac�on. When sited they provide fresh and some�mes surprising readings of landscape, locality and community.

To work wood or stone takes �me and each material sets its own pace. For sculptor Stephen Newton it is a grounded ac�vity, very much of the real world.

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Stephen Newton, Enfans, 2012, turpen�ne hardwood, spo�ed gum and steel (from the exhibi�on ‘Time and the Elements’, Caboolture Regional Art Gallery 2013)

Recycled Gem, Unique Zebra Stone and recycled glass.

Naturally inspired! eARTh cha�ed with Sandy Barclay, from Cooroy near Noosa, Australia, about how she stumbled upon combining her great passions of jewellery and environment. In Sandy’s words...

Eco Earth Crea�ve evolved through love of jewellery, crea�vity, environment, sustainability and everything natural.

My inspira�ons come from the natural environment, memory and connec�on to place. Places where I have enjoyed living, such as the mighty Murray River in South Australia, the Great Barrier Reef and the Daintree with its ancient rainforests to travels through Europe, New Zealand, Vietnam and the magical India have all inspired my connec�on to place. Now living in the crea�ve hub of the Noosa Biosphere Reserve I am constantly inspired to create from our beau�ful environment.

Designing from earth’s treasures and crea�ng recycled gems from discarded bo�les underpins the passion for my cra�. The unique zebra stone from the Kimberley of West Australia s�ll remains a geological mystery as to how the unique pa�erns of rhythmic stripes and dots are formed in the stone. The recycled gems formed from broken glass evolve from the tumbler as if they have been rolling on the ocean bed for many years transposing their journey. The glass is drilled under water and prepared for the crea�ve process, where every piece is unique. These natural elements and many more inspire my crea�vity from mother earth. www.ecoearthcrea�ve.com inspired art

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Field Work...

Africa Being in nature and capturing its beauty through photography, is one of the perks in African-born Richard Field’s safari work.

His love of wildlife photography is matched by his ability to capture in portraiture the spirit of resilience to be found in the surrounding Indigenous communi�es.

Words by Sandra Conte Photos by Richard Field

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Maasai warrior, Maasai woman, and Maasai child, Ngorongoro Highlands, Tanzania.

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gives a glimpse into this world with his observa�ons of well meaning western visitors who may not understand the sustainable values held by different lifestyles – “An example of this comes from my last safari, where we were unexpectedly invited into a Maasai village – one that isn’t set up for tourists. It was a completely authen�c and uncontrived experience and it had some impact on my guests. The biggest impact was felt because my guests, like most well inten�oned tourists to remote parts of the world, want to try and help where they can.

They walk into a remote village and see that there is no running water and think how much easier these people’s lives would be with a pump and some basic plumbing, but seldom do they ask the people if that is what they actually want.

The fact is that the Maasai have been living their own lives in the same way quite happily for many thousands of years, so who are we to tell them how to live their lives. They are jus�fiably proud of their culture and they are one of the few tribes of Africa who are s�ll clinging on to their tradi�onal ways. To try and make their lives be�er by bringing in pieces of western culture is a li�le arrogant on our behalf, although

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o�en well inten�oned. Our constant searching for physical wealth and material possessions hasn’t really le� us much happier. When you spend �me with people like the Maasai in a natural and uncontrived way it becomes immediately apparent how happy these people are with what we would consider to be close to nothing.

Instead of thinking that we always know best, we would do well to step back and learn from others who have long made their peace with the earth”.

Enamoured by Africa’s wilderness, Richard has worked for 16 years as a safari guide, naturalist and photographer.

Based in Sydney he also organises extraordinary safari travel experiences for people wan�ng to experience the real Africa. Here Richard shares his portraiture work, allowing us to look into the Maasai eyes, of a woman, child and man, in order to reflect on our own, perhaps inflexible, percep�ons about sustainability with the land.

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12 Huia Feathers (handmade paper and ink) Ilka Blue Nelson.

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A Transdisciplinary Practice According to Steiner’s Anthroposophical teachings, at age 38 I am the farthest I will ever be from the spiritual realm. Steiner says the seven year cycle between 35 and 42, is when we incarnate our self most completely. Apparently, like the individual, Humanity also transi�ons through these developmental cycles (though over a much longer �me scale) and is currently at its furthest distance from the spirit worlds and will remain so well into the next millennia. Whilst I am impar�al to Anthroposophy, these ideas are great metaphors for introducing my prac�ce.

By Ilka Blue Nelson

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connec�ons between macro and micro rhythms, rely on pa�erns to veil the chaos, I believe in transforma�onal cycles, and am relieved to discover that at 38 I am not slow to emerge but in fact metaphysically right on track.

My emersion was consummated in April when I had my Masters thesis printed and bound in deep blue cloth, a colour that symbolises my �lt in the world. I needed the two and a half year research journey to en�ce my knowledge from the shadows, sharpen my tongue and alchemise my tears into words. Through my research I discovered a much greater stage, full of wild and weathered thinkers, who humbled me with deeper ways of knowing the world. I’ll share some of those discoveries to sketch out my work as a transdisciplinary ar�st.

I work to remedy ecocide. I’m pulled to a junc�on where language connects the cultural and biological dimensions, there’s magic there, in the transforma�onal sense. I’m exploring storytelling as a unique human survival tool in context of us being a complex adap�ve species. This is about our poten�al as pa�ern makers, a gi� that is being annulled by the doctrine of Modern narra�ves, narra�ves that are “too simplis�c for living in the present global order”, a world unfurling through complex inter-connected networks and widespread cultural and biological displacement (Gare in Merchant, 2003, 202).

The transdisciplinary approach “does not focus exclusively on knowing, but on the inter-rela�onship between knowing, doing and rela�ng” (Montuori in Kagan, 2011, 200). Like the other ‘philosophies’ that inform my prac�ce (mythology, quantum physics and systems thinking), transdisciplinarity disrupts the world of classical thought and thus disorders the

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founda�ons of Modernity which are built from a single level of Reality (Nicolescu, 2002, 89) “The emergence of at least two different levels of Reality in the study of natural systems is a major event in the history of knowledge. It can lead us to reconsider our individual and social lives, to give us new interpreta�ons to old knowledge, to explore the knowledge of ourselves in a different way, here and now” (ibid., 22).

By sensing complexity, recognising unity in diversity, and opening to mul�dimensional and mul�referen�al reali�es, transdisciplinarity helps me reinforce that ecocide transcends disciplinary ma�ers - so although my work is anchored in crea�ve prac�ce, its primary concern is to regenerate ecological health across biological and cultural spectrums. The transdisciplinary ar�st and the tradi�onal storyteller share a prac�ce of illumina�ng the world, we do not prac�ce in the fashion of the Modern Ar�st who is revered as individual creator, but as ar�st who wields the shaman’s skill of shi�ing the community’s percep�on from “an art of ecology” (in which we render culture on nature) to “an ecology of art” (in which we open cultural dialogue with nature) (Haley, 2011, 3). This is healing business, not entertainment.

Through the elements of storytelling, I create tools that can adapt Western language from the pa�ern of the linear narra�ve toward a web of narra�ves that emulates ecological pa�erns “such as weather, turbulence, the shapes of coastlines, and the arrhythmic fibrilla�ons of the human heart” (Merchant, 2003, 203/208). Ecocide is colossal and there is no singular an�dote. Thus I understand my work to be ‘seeds and ripples’ remedy. Paradoxically, I feel our most potent elixir will be a return to “the soul in the body of the world, the anima mundi” (Gablik, 1995, 142). Perhaps I feel this way because at 38, I am a long way from home. 

REFERENCES Gablik, Suzi. 1995. Conversa�ons Before The End Of Time: Dialogues on Art, Life and Spiritual Renewal. London: Thames and Hudson.

Ilka Blue, New Plymouth at SCANZ making the feathers from muka (fibre from the flax).

Haley, David. 2011. “Art, Ecology and Reality: the Poten�al for Transdisciplinarity.” Paper presented at the 5th Mediterranean Congress of Aesthe�cs - Art, Emo�on and Value, Cartagena, July 4-8. h�p://www.um.es/vmca/download/docs/david-haley.pdf Kagan, Sacha. 2011. Art and Sustainability: Connec�ng Pa�erns for a Culture of Complexity. Bielefeld: Transcript.

Merchant, Carolyn. 2003. Reinven�ng Eden. New York: Routledge.

Nicolescu, Basarab. 2002. Manifesto of Transdisciplinarity. Albany: State University of New York Press.

Water (digital photograph).

Photographer Ilka Blue Nelson.

ILKA BLUE NELSON is a Crea�ve Ecologist, rumbling in the big picture by connec�ng cultural and biological pa�erns, with a boundless passion for nature. She runs the transdisciplinary studio, Latorica.

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Ivan Puig and AndrĂŠs Padilla Domene - SEFT 1

The Road to ISEA2013

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June 2013 Sydney is hos�ng ISEA, an interna�onal fes�val of electronic art and ideas that will undoubtedly be one of the most significant cultural events in Australia this decade. Presented by the Australian Network for Art and Technology (ANAT) and held alongside Vivid Sydney, ISEA2013 will showcase the best media artworks from around the world and infuse Sydney’s social, digital and physical infrastructure with ideas, provoca�ons and visions for the future. If ISEA2012 is anything to go by, this event will be a pivotal opportunity for Australian ar�sts to par�cipate in one of the most important contemporary art forums in the world today.

Founded in the Netherlands in 1990, ISEA is an organisa�on that aims to foster interdisciplinary exchange and academic discourse among the interna�onal art, science and technology community. The ac�vi�es of ISEA pivot on the annual symposium, which in the last two years has travelled from the energe�c metropolis of Istanbul to the rugged landscapes of New Mexico. While the event is framed around sharing ideas, the social and cultural context is a cri�cal element to experience a diversity of perspec�ves through community engagement and local immersion.

ISEA2012 hosted in Albuquerque, New Mexico is a prime example of how this event can be a catalyst to explore cri�cal contemporary issues through community, art, science and technology.

The theme of ISEA2012 “Machine Wilderness” references the New Mexico region as an area of rapid growth and technology within vast expanses of open land. The underpinning vision was to explore a more humane interac�on between technology and wilderness, focusing on crea�ve solu�ons for sustainably coexis�ng with the natural world and technology. Over 100 ar�sts and 400 presenters from 30 countries par�cipated in the programmed events that ranged from provoca�ve keynotes on the exponen�al growth of data to mesmerizing installa�ons and performances. The main exhibi�on, hosted at 516 Arts and The Albuquerque Museum of Art and History, was curated from 1,500 submissions and certainly showcased the diversity of interna�onal electronic art. The highlights include Ivan Puig and Andres Padilla Domene’s SEFT1, a vehicle equipped with a Hi-Rail system that travels abandoned railways throughout Mexico using electronic media to record the process. While the vehicle itself was an integral part of the exhibi�on, the surrounding documenta�on including personal encounters in remote areas and an interac�ve website provided a key example of art and technology as a catalyst for community engagement and explora�ons of the past to inform the future.

‘The Downtown Block Party’ featured artworks revolving around “Dynamobili�es”, one of the conference subthemes addressing the mobility of people, goods and ideas. The Block Party included performances, workshops, projec�ons and kine�c sculptures presented in an accessible format embedding the Albuquerque community into the layers of ISEA2012. The night culminated with Christopher Mariane� and Mary Margaret Moore crea�ng Symphony 505, a music and dance composi�on using low-rider cars as instruments.

While this performance drew the crowds, it was some of the more elusive and ephemeral works such as Jeremiah inspired art

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The three-day ISEA2013 Conference features over 200 speakers and eight keynote addresses with subjects ranging from eco ac�vism, bio-art, and robo�cs, to augmented reali�es and interac�vity. The Opening Keynote address will be by Michael Naimark, a New York-based interna�onally renowned pioneering media ar�st.

Charles Lindsay - CARBONx

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Moore’s Listen Toward the Ground that proved most effective. This walking tour was a head-phone based sonic excursion in the soundscapes of high desert oil and gas fields overlaid onto the alleyways of downtown Albuquerque. These layers of multi-sensory engagement were also prevalent at other ISEA2012 sites, such as the Institute of American Indian Arts in Santa Fe where works such as Charles Lindsay’s immersive installation CARBON were contrasted with a sound walk in the rugged landscape. This direct engagement with the wilderness was part of Teri Rueb and Larry Phan’s location-specific sound walk and sculptural installation titled No Places With Names: a critical acoustic archaeology. This reflective experience weaved personal stories and sounds throughout the landscape and effortlessly conveyed the power of technology to reconnect us with the wilderness.

Laurie Anderson’s DIRTDAY! performance and accompanying keynote were a worthy highlight for many ISEA delegates as were presentations from leading figures such as Roger Malina, who explored opportunities for artscience collaborations in the era of “big data” and Fritz Haeg, who spoke about Animal Estate; a housing initiative for native animals in cities around the world. The skilled curation of the conference encouraged delegates to step outside their fields and engage in vibrant discussions with artists such as Tahir Hemphill and Kwende Kefense who expertly examined the history of Hip Hop culture transformed by technological innovations.

Andrea Polli, the ISEA2012 Artistic Director, hopes that the event as a whole will serve as a ‘model for interdisciplinary work to inspire wilderness-based collaborations nationally and internationally.’ There is no

doubt that ISEA2012 demonstrated the role art can play in re-envisioning the world, par�cularly when combined with the infinite possibili�es of technology. The importance of ISEA is not just in convening the interna�onal arts, science and technology community, but in ac�ng as an incubator for some of the most challenging and innova�ve contemporary art the world has to offer. Ar�sts con�nue to play a cri�cal role in inves�ga�ng the limits of technology as we move into an age where digital media permeates our lives. The focus has now shi�ed to Sydney where the ISEA2013 theme, “Resistance is Fu�le”, suggests that electronic art now lies embedded in the heart of our contemporary cultures, engrained in the fabric of everyday life. With hundred of proposals from across the world, the 2013 program is guaranteed to challenge the consequences of digital life and inspire the future of electronic art prac�ce.

The ISEA2013 exhibi�ons are spread throughout inner Sydney, Parrama�a and Campbelltown with works from over 150 contemporary ar�sts from Australia and around the world. Exhibi�ons include: Experimenta’s ‘Speak To Me’ at the Powerhouse Museum, ‘Catching Light’ at Campbelltown Arts Centre, and ‘Running the City’ at UNSW Galleries, COFA. A highlight of the program is the Australian premiere of test pa�ern, a stunning large-scale immersive installa�on by renowned Japanese ar�st Ryoji Ikeda. Ikeda will also perform a new full-length version of datama�cs 2.0 at Carriageworks during ISEA2013.

The full program is available at www.isea2013.org *A version of this ar�cle was published by the Australia Council for the Arts in Artery in November 2012.

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SCANZ2013 Exhibi�on at WITT Return of the Huia Feathers’ Ilka Blue Nelson. Photographer: Brooke Sturtevant-Sealover

SCANZ 3rd Nature Solar Circuit Aotearoa New Zealand (SCANZ) is New Zealand’s premier art, technology, culture and ecology event and involves a symposium, crea�ve residency, public events and exhibi�ons.

Occurring biennially, it brings together a mix of Aotearoa New Zealand and interna�onal ar�sts, producers, theorists and curators.

By Ilka Blue Nelson

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year, SCANZ 2013: 3rd nature was facilitated by partnering organisa�ons Intercreate and Te Matahiapo, and focused on three cri�cal axes: *Acknowledging the environmental crisis *Engaging with Māori and Indigenous peoples *Engaging with Sciences and the Hybrid Arts These three intersec�ng dialogues evolved a Third Nature, a working space of fresh knowledge, deep knowledge, and diverse cultural, disciplinary and technological approaches that worked toward co-crea�ng a healthier world. (Excerpt from www.intercreate.org/category/scanz-2013/)

Experiencing a 3rd Nature The complexity of our present environmental crisis is unquan�fiable, as is the perturba�on scale and dura�on of its a�ershocks. We face ecocide as an unknown. Many of us who seek remedies for the crisis have felt the cold edge of that abyss. We can taste the change that is needed but though it is an innate knowledge, it also abandons our grasp.

Here is the intangible well of ‘living knowledge’.

I wish not to diminish the incredible projects and people that actuate healing, but to candidly equate the imbalance between our collec�ve efforts and our collec�ve destruc�on.

Being sober to this inequity may help us navigate our future course through the conflic�ng forces of change. I say this based on a premise that there are two intrinsic phenomena genera�ng the universe: 1) transforma�on occurs through cycles of crea�on and collapse; and 2) living systems depend on dynamic rela�onships. By this reckoning, strengthening

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our rela�onships with each other and the more-than-human world may be a sound way to chart our future recovery.

SCANZ 3rd Nature is an experien�al example of this possibility. It was alchemised in the rela�onships between the people who contributed to the gathering, and the natural en��es - whenua/ wai/ maunga - of Taranaki. Though subtle, the ripples we seeded are at the heart of what I hope humans can collec�vely realise - every boundary that separates also connects (Brookner, 2004, 100). At SCANZ we inhabited the daily complexity of proac�vely engaging each other and the world around us; we connected and communicated through spectrums of difference (disciplinary/ cultural/ philosophical and linguis�c) and our openness to the many differences between us created what complexity scholar Edgar Morin describes as, “unity through diversity”.

The connec�ons I made at SCANZ, both physical and metaphoric, gi�ed me a deeper sense of humanity, brought me closer to accep�ng the conflict inherent in our universe, helped me realise that there is �me for spirit even as �me for species shrinks. Whilst forging ‘dynamic rela�onships’ does not materialise the immediate changes needed for global environmental/climate remedia�on, it does strengthen our ‘living knowledge’ which is vital to regenera�ng balance between living systems (cultural and biological) on Earth.

As Dr Te Huirangi Waikerepuru shared with us at SCANZ, the wisdom of Tino Ranga�ratanga is found in the weaving of the whāriki, a mat upon which all people, plants, and creatures can come together equally.

SCANZ2013 Exhibi�on at WITT ‘Whāriki’ Jo Tito.

Photographer: Jo Tito

REFERENCES Brookner, Jackie, Alfie Bonanno and Susan Leibowitz Steinman. 2004.

“Materials.” In Ecological Aesthe�cs: Art in Environmental Design: Theory and Prac�ce, edited by Heike Strelow, Herman Prigann and Vera David, 96103. Basel: Birkhauser.

SCANZ2013 Symposium at Owae Marae.

Photographer: Jo Tito

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Smartphone Photography

November 2012, Melbourne based photographer Misho Baranovic travelled to India with World Vision Australia to document their in-country development programs.

Baranovic used his smartphone to document the journey. As the group’s photo-blogger, he presented that day’s photographs as a series of short snapshots, or ‘stories’ which he shared on Instagram and Twi�er.

By sharing the photos on social media, they became interac�ve, people were able to engage with and ask ques�ons about both the images themselves and the journey in general.

Commenters also shared their own stories of travelling through India, the challenges of third world development, and even their own stories of hardship that they saw reflected in the images.

It was as much about the dialogue as the photos themselves. You can find the full series of Misho Baranovic’s India photographs on his website: h�p:// mishobaranovic.com/world-vision-india.

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Photos by Misho Baranovic, 2012 Photo 1: Two young girls watching the performers set up as part of our welcome ceremony Photo 2: Lajja welcomed us to her home located in a Delhi slum. She works together with World Vision to help educate young mothers about child health and nutri�on.

Photo 3: Fellow blogger Kelly (bo�om le�) surrounded by locals as she meets her sponsor child, Lucky, in a slum on the outskirts of Raipur Photo 4: Enjoying the new children’s park provided by World Vision as part of the Raipur Area Development Program slum regenera�on project Photo 5: Wai�ng for the train at Bilaspur Sta�on Photo 6: A dapper young man rolled up for a portrait while we were visi�ng sponsor children in outer Raipur

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The Garden, Rayma Eveson

Mother Earth inspires Rayma Eveson Rayma Eveson’s love and apprecia�on of Mother Earth is evident in her though�ul, emo�ve pastel illustra�ons depic�ng stories of love, wonder and magic.

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Mother Earth, Rayma Eveson.

a horse is like riding a God,” Rayma Eveson tells me with a glint of exhilara�on in her eyes. Growing up in country Victoria, Rayma helped break horses in as a child, a hobby driven by a great love of horses and a large degree of fearlessness.

Her love for all creatures great and small and respect for Mother Earth is evident in the delight she takes introducing her dogs Harry and Lulu, and a trek to the back of her property to show a special fig tree she planted some twenty years ago. And she is mindful not to be wasteful. An old ma�ress is not carted off to the �p but pulled apart; the coir used to line the pond, the foam cut up and used for spills and the inner springs now growing with vine.

Respect for nature was something passed onto Rayma and her siblings by her mother. “Mum grew up in the bush and found great solace there; she taught us to be s�ll, something I don’t think many parents teach, to listen for the different sounds, to feel the different textures of barks and fungi, to use all our senses.

“I remember one day Mum found a li�le billabong, it was warm and sunny, we were watching fairy wrens and dragonflies and I no�ced these Venus fly trap plants. They were so �ny and beau�ful. They had li�le red hairs around their mouths, at the end of each hair there was a droplet of s�cky liquid. I touched one and it closed, all five of us knelt down for about ten minutes, absolutely fascinated with these amazing, �ny specimens.

I have taught our children the same love and respect for nature. They were lucky enough to grow up in the rainforest and the three of them would go off exploring together. I feel it’s been an absolute privilege to give our children this

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Rayma Eveson by her favourite ďŹ g tree.

Photograph by Alana Hall.

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Have love and respect for yourself, for when you do, you love and respect for all you share your world with; it’s pe animals and the environment. Care for this planet like yo depends on it, because it does. - Rayma Eveson

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u have eople, our life

experience, they have a real connec�vity with nature and I think that brings them peace in what some�mes seems to be a mad, rushed world.

Planet Starfish, Rayma Eveson.

“My love and respect for nature is definitely reflected in my work. Art is an unspoken dialogue and I know I paint from the heart, with all my soul. My art is emo�on on paper and I can’t tell you how much joy this brings me, first to be able to create it and, second, to have someone want to buy it because it s�rs their emo�ons; they find it fun or beau�ful or maybe because it opens up their heart and takes them to a different place. I love crea�ng my art because it has love, wonder and magic in it, just like the real world.

“Point Cartwright (on Australia’s Sunshine Coast) is one of my favourite places I go to clear my head. I take the dogs and we walk along the river path around the rocks to the Kawana side of the Point, I love it when it’s windy, the feeling of the wind on my face, when it’s all around you and almost through you. It’s wild and I feel free there, it reminds me of being a kid riding horses. That long horizon line is relaxing to see and the blues so calming, it’s very therapeu�c.

Motherhood diverted Rayma from her path of ar�stry for some �me but with her children all grown up, she is back to finding that part of herself. “As a young ar�st, I used to think crea�ng a realis�c artwork was important, now I have much more fun with it, I’ve realised life doesn’t have to be taken so seriously”, a no�on clearly evident in her upcoming exhibi�on en�tled, ‘The Magic of Circus’.

“I’m a child at heart and what child, or adult, for that ma�er, doesn’t love a circus? I can’t stop my over-ac�ve imagina�on so I’ve learnt to run with it. Imagining is really thinking of the possibili�es and then bringing them to frui�on”.

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Ocean Activism

Making a splash Hannah Mermaid is an Ocean Ac�vist who dons a variety of tails for her many performances and photo shoots around the world. She has a passion for protec�ng it with the deep sea and raising strategies, mul�ple awareness with Sandi at eARTh. which she shared inspired art

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in the United States but hailing from Byron Bay Australia, Hannah lists her roles as ocean ac�vist, model and performer and commands an audience with her underwater ar�stry. She can leave you simultaneously holding your breath and breathless, with her deep sea an�cs.

In fact, you will wonder how she does what she does.

Chosen by ‘gun’ photographers such as Shawn Heinrichs and Kris�an Schmidt for underwater modelling, Hannah explains, “We recently did a whale shark conserva�on worldfirst fashion shoot and ‘manta’s last dance’ manta ray conserva�on shoot together to spearhead the cause to have manta rays put on the endangered list at CITES - (Conven�on for Interna�onal Trade of Endangered Species) - we won the vote by 80 per cent!”

Hannah suggests her peak physical capacity for this sort of work is perhaps borne of a lot of �me spent visi�ng a medita�on yoga ashram in India through her childhood and teen years, with her mother. Hannah also gives some �ps for budding mermaids: “For breath hold - yoga, dancing, breath training, medita�on and relaxa�on all assist. Five minutes prior to going in the water, I slow down and deepen my breathing, then 10 seconds before I dive I breathe super

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deep and faster to get a lot of oxygen through the body”.

Hannah explains there is a lot more to it than meets the eye - “To be able to create convincing mermaid photos and footage you need to have a very strong breath hold ability, an extremely strong swimming ability, (with your legs bound together) to look comfortable, be dive cer�fied, not be afraid of underwater wild life, have ocean experience in �des, currents, waves, varying temperature, swimming with your eyes open underwater without goggles, and have modelling experience!

I’ve also learned to act underwater, and convey a lot of emo�on and expression without speech.

It’s a con�nually challenging and exci�ng profession!”

Tracing her many ac�vi�es as an actor and ac�ve ac�vist, it is some�mes a case of life imita�ng art. Hannah once took centre stage with actress Darryl Hannah, who incidentally appeared on the big screen as a mermaid in that 80’s movie en�tled ‘Splash’. Here in their group photograph for Earth Day in downtown LA, Hannah (Fraser) chose to wear her an�-kill designed ou�it to speak out against the slaughter of whales and dolphins. This

is another example of Hannah using a ‘moment’ to raise awareness of the big issues.

Hannah says she can remember Darryl Hannah’s film, “I was nine years old when I saw the film ‘Splash’ and I realised it was my dream to have a tail too; I created my first mermaid tail with the help of my ar�s�c and suppor�ve mother”.

Recognising the benefit of working with celebri�es to bring a greater focus to causes that bring grief, Hannah helped organise a Surfers’ paddle out at The Cove in Japan with pro surfer David Rastovich, actresses Hayden Pane�ere and Isabel Lucas, to bring focus and awareness to the slaughter of tens of thousands of dolphins every year in Japanese waters.

Hannah explains it is her a�rac�on to water and crea�ve play that she hopes will also shi� people’s thinking – “I feel the most free and expressive while underwater. I think there has been a dream�me when mermaids were part of our reality but with the age of technology, we’ve lost touch with that.

I’d like to help awaken people to their personal experience of crea�ve play, where the lines of fantasy and reality blend.

Being a mermaid is my lifelong expression of joy. I hope everyone finds their own passion... and lives it! “ Hannah travels the world to provide educa�on about ocean beauty and the conserva�on of animals and has a documentary called ‘Tears of a Mermaid’ being released in 2014. eARTh emag hopes to bring a curated gallery of photographs of Hannah in subsequent issues.

www.hannahfraser.com

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Children’s book to Reef’s rescue

By Sandra Conte you’re in disbelief about the ongoing devasta�on to The Great Barrier Reef, then here’s an e-book for you to share with your kids and their friends; it’s especially for 7-11 years looking for some ‘sea inspira�on’. Mirabella the Mermaid Detec�ve provides insight to the journey of an ocean ac�vist mermaid.

The brainchild of Mother-daughter combina�on, Margo and Emma Gibbs, the magical mermaid story has messages for young readers. Book 1 in the series of e-books sees Mirabella introduced as a mermaid who breaks with centuries of tradi�on. As the first mermaid to ever cut her hair there’s a li�le more to the plot with Mirabella placing herself in unimaginable danger when trying to locate a family of fish who have mysteriously disappeared in the open ocean.

Mirabella loves exploring, solving puzzles, helping others and going on adventures with her two best friends, Seamese the lionfish and Luna the cu�lefish.

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The first book in the series is illustrated by French-born Laurent Lalo, who currently lives in Noumea and regularly swims on the New Caledonian reef, second only in length to Australia’s Great Barrier Reef. With Mirabella, he has produced a cheeky, inspiring mermaid who is described by Emma as being “Strongwilled, smart, loyal, adventurous, caring and passionate, an engaging role model who just happens to be a mermaid”.

Co-author Emma, a budding film and television producer further states, “Even though mermaids are fantasy creatures (or they’re just being very, very secre�ve), the real magic of the Mirabella stories is found in the real ocean-life woven into every story. From cu�lefish, who are ‘masters of disguise’ with three hearts, to the parro�ish that mow the algae with their beak-like mouths, The Great Barrier Reef is full of fascina�ng real-life characters.

All the stories are a product of our imagina�ons and doing a lot of research into all the amazing creatures on the reef.”

Mirabella and friends from the first book in the series by Emma and Margo Gibbs, illustra�ons by Laurent Lalo.

Margo, who is a published author and former primary school teacher, says she has been weaving tales since her childhood in Glasgow. “I believe the Great Barrier Reef is a one off, a marvel of nature that cannot be replicated, rebuilt or replaced, a world that can teach humans more about how to live in harmony and balance with the world around us. For that, it must be protected”.

by Margo Gibbs & Emma Gibbs

Both Emma and Margo lay out their goal for Mirabella the Mermaid Detec�ve to become an ongoing series of both eBooks and hard copy books, with an interac�ve website, engaging Apps and down the track a television series. As part of their vision for Mirabella, they would love to use the stories as a pla�orm for reef awareness around the world, partnering with organisa�ons that support maintaining reef biodiversity. Emma states, “We see the Mirabella story world as a great way to raise awareness and support the �reless global reef conserva�on effort that so many champion every day”.

Mirabella the Mermaid Detec�ve is available on iTunes, Amazon and other major digital retailers as well as our website www.mermaiddetec�ve.com

DID YOU KNOW? The Great Barrier Reef is the largest coral reef in the world and one of the Seven Wonders of the Natural World.

The ecosystem of the GBR is extremely fragile and is facing total collapse with the added pressure of the dredging, which releases toxic chemicals into the sea.

Turtles are dying on The Great Barrier Reef as a result of water pollu�on, poor fishing prac�ces and illegal poaching.

Purchase your copy of the Special Edition eBook for just $5.99 at www.mermaiddetective.com

June 11-12

A Life on Earth -

‘SOLD OUT’

Sir David A�enborough revisits Australia to appear live on stage in his not-to-be-missed tour of Sir David A�enborough - A Life on Earth. Following sell out shows in 2012, he visits Brisbane, Canberra, Perth, Adelaide, Sydney and Melbourne throughout June. As the website states “Sir David A�enborough is arguably the world’s best-known natural history film-maker, a much loved naturalist and broadcaster whose career has spanned nearly six decades. He is the quintessen�al intrepid traveller, some�mes changing con�nents midsentence. Sir David A�enborough - A Life on Earth takes audiences on an incredible journey through his extraordinary life, his untold stories, the evolu�on of filming techniques and his passion for bringing us closer to nature.”

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August 26 - September 2 Burning Man Fes�val Eight days where tens of thousands of par�cipants gather in Nevada’s Black Rock Desert to create Black Rock City, dedicated to community, art, self-expression, and selfreliance. They depart having le� no trace whatsoever. (June 19 - Art installa�on rego. closes; June 26 - Video/film project rego. closes)

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The Prayer, Rayma Eveson.

The Last Word

Rebecca Tarbo�on 1973-2012 The unexpected passing of Rebecca Tarbo�on also represents the loss of a young, energe�c environmental visionary.

As Execu�ve Director of RAN (Rainforest Alliance Network), Rebecca’s work was firmly planted at the intersec�on of climate change, deforesta�on and human rights – the merging of the environmental and social jus�ce movements.

This inaugural edi�on of eARTh emag pays tribute and gives the last word to Rebecca as an amazing individual who inspired many, both affec�ng and effec�ng the headheart connec�on in listeners, observers and followers to mo�vate global change, for the be�er.

In her RAN Biography, Rebecca said it was “one of the few organisa�ons out there that’s working on transforming our economy by changing the way that corpora�ons do business. A fundamental shi� is necessary to create a future where humans are in balance with nature.” eARTh honours those who are deeply rooted to such causes and transforma�ve change, as with the legacy of Rebecca Tarbo�on (1973 - 2012).

See and hear Rebecca on Youtube.

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Virginia King, Cradle of Life, Floa�ng Land , 2009, Photograph by Raoul Slater