- Published on
By Laura Brearley
THERE was a moment last week that I suspect will stay with me forever. It was a moment of pure delight and inspiration. We were at the Bass Coast Children’s Centre singing with the kinder kids and had just finished singing Hail the Whale together …
“Love those whales waving their tails
Splishin’ and a-splash’n in the deep blue sea …”
The last chord had hardly faded when a little girl, beaming in the front row, said “Again!”
Open, direct and ready. And so we sang it again.
THERE was a moment last week that I suspect will stay with me forever. It was a moment of pure delight and inspiration. We were at the Bass Coast Children’s Centre singing with the kinder kids and had just finished singing Hail the Whale together …
“Love those whales waving their tails
Splishin’ and a-splash’n in the deep blue sea …”
The last chord had hardly faded when a little girl, beaming in the front row, said “Again!”
Open, direct and ready. And so we sang it again.
We were rehearsing for the opening of the Ocean Messages exhibition at ArtSpace Wonthaggi. The exhibition, curated by Inverloch artist Susan Hall, is showcasing artworks from children, artists and First Nation Elders in Bass Coast (Boonwurrung/Bunurong Country), Norfolk Island and Turtle Island (Canada and USA).
The little girl was there again at the exhibition opening, along with other children, leading the community in song …
“There’s a bird on my head
It’s making a nest
It’s laying an egg
Now it’s having a rest …”
We had just heard from artist Marj Renni whose stunning artwork of migratory shorebirds had created magic in the ArtSpace gallery, with birds flying off the canvas and onto the wall.
The little girl was there again at the exhibition opening, along with other children, leading the community in song …
“There’s a bird on my head
It’s making a nest
It’s laying an egg
Now it’s having a rest …”
We had just heard from artist Marj Renni whose stunning artwork of migratory shorebirds had created magic in the ArtSpace gallery, with birds flying off the canvas and onto the wall.
It seemed that her ceramic sculptures of bar-tailed godwits, curlew sandpipers and stints had also broken free, leaving the main flock and landing in various places around the gallery. At the opening, Marj described the long and awe-inspiring flights migratory birds make across the planet, flying as far as the moon and beyond in their lifetime. She also quoted the chilling statistics about the 80 per cent decline in their population due to the loss of wetlands and mudflats along their flight paths.
The holding of opposites is a feature of another compelling artwork in the exhibition, a sculpture made by a group of Grade 6 children from Newhaven Primary School. As part of the Kids as Catalysts program, and supported by Helen Matthews from the For Our Future project, the children have collaborated on a sculpture that integrates ceramics, words, natural materials and rubbish they had found on the beach. Their art piece has been designed to show the need to care for the environment. The words hanging from the sculpture are drawn from their experience of the natural world: ‘Thankful, Refreshed, Connected, Joyful, Playful, Alive, Free, Loved, Crazy, Smoke, Rubbish Sucks and Everything Goes Away.’
The exhibition features a collaborative visual conversation between Navajo artist Melanie Yazzie and Inverloch artist Susan Hall and also includes a large bamboo whale sculpture created by Camille Monet. The whale is hung with messages from children to whales, such as: ‘Keep swimming, We see you, I love whales, Have a good trip, Swim free, I hope you find some food’.
The exhibition features a collaborative visual conversation between Navajo artist Melanie Yazzie and Inverloch artist Susan Hall and also includes a large bamboo whale sculpture created by Camille Monet. The whale is hung with messages from children to whales, such as: ‘Keep swimming, We see you, I love whales, Have a good trip, Swim free, I hope you find some food’.
Whale sculpture by Camille Monet. Photo: Kate Harmon
There are also artworks and photographs sent from artists from Cortes Island, British Columbia. The photographs tell the story of children from Cortes Island, known as the “Children of the Forest” who have been raising funds for many years to buy forest to prevent it from being logged.
Holding wonder and grief together is the work of our time. Our love of the Earth remains a strong and healing force, even as we try to absorb the degradation of nature and the daily, devastating number of extinctions happening on the planet. Treat the Earth well, says the old Kenyan Proverb. “It is not inherited from your parents. It is borrowed from your children.” Being awake and full of wonder are great gifts given to us by children. Even in the face of loss. Especially in the face of loss.
Holding wonder and grief together is the work of our time. Our love of the Earth remains a strong and healing force, even as we try to absorb the degradation of nature and the daily, devastating number of extinctions happening on the planet. Treat the Earth well, says the old Kenyan Proverb. “It is not inherited from your parents. It is borrowed from your children.” Being awake and full of wonder are great gifts given to us by children. Even in the face of loss. Especially in the face of loss.
This morning, I received another generous gift in the form of words. They came from Sally, a mother and local community member who came to the Ocean Messages exhibition opening. She sent me this message …
“When you are surrounded by people who embody caring for the environment, you cannot help but be filled with hope; this is what the For Our Future exhibition opening felt like. Laura created both a physical and emotional space that unified people and groups from our community with others from across the ocean, concerned about our environment’s future. Together they have created an exhibition that is an expression of love and determination that crosses the ocean.
“The opening was a physical experience as Laura invited us to sign-dance words from May We Feel:
“May we feel the Earth within
Breathing out and breathing in May we feel the Living Earth
In everything …”
“The emotional experience became physical and we all embodied a sense of celebration and unity.
“If you have a chance to meet Laura, you will quickly observe she is a force of nature; if your children have a chance to learn from her, they will just as quickly be singing her songs and be inspired to create their own, just like my daughter Isla, who learnt Bird on my Head in two listens and has been singing a new verse she has created “Giraffe in my garden” ever since.”
“When you are surrounded by people who embody caring for the environment, you cannot help but be filled with hope; this is what the For Our Future exhibition opening felt like. Laura created both a physical and emotional space that unified people and groups from our community with others from across the ocean, concerned about our environment’s future. Together they have created an exhibition that is an expression of love and determination that crosses the ocean.
“The opening was a physical experience as Laura invited us to sign-dance words from May We Feel:
“May we feel the Earth within
Breathing out and breathing in May we feel the Living Earth
In everything …”
“The emotional experience became physical and we all embodied a sense of celebration and unity.
“If you have a chance to meet Laura, you will quickly observe she is a force of nature; if your children have a chance to learn from her, they will just as quickly be singing her songs and be inspired to create their own, just like my daughter Isla, who learnt Bird on my Head in two listens and has been singing a new verse she has created “Giraffe in my garden” ever since.”
If you want to be further inspired by children, here’s a photostory about local kindergarten-aged conservationists getting down and dirty, planting grasses and trees in Inverloch, supported by the South Gippsland Conservation Society and other community members.
For more inspiration, check out Terry Melvin’s new film about Ed Thexton, riparian expert and president of the South Gippsland Conservation Society.
There’s inspiration too in the new film about Traditional Custodian Aunty Sonia Weston, speaking about being in right relationship with the Living World.
With deep thanks to Sally, Isla and all the children, artists and First Nation Elders who are inspiring and connecting us across the oceans. Thanks, too, to the ArtSpace curators and volunteers, Traditional Custodian Aunty Sonia Weston for generously welcoming us to Country and to Inverloch-based John Gemmill, CEO of the Clean Ocean Foundation, who opened the exhibition.
The Ocean Messages exhibition is at Wonthaggi ArtSpace until September 17. It is a component of Phillip Island Conservation Society’s (PICS) eco arts project For Our Future, funded by PICS and Bass Coast Shire Council.
The Ocean Messages exhibition is at Wonthaggi ArtSpace until September 17. It is a component of Phillip Island Conservation Society’s (PICS) eco arts project For Our Future, funded by PICS and Bass Coast Shire Council.
Laura, you quote the old Kenyan proverb: Treat the Earth well. "It is not inherited from your parents. It is borrowed from your children”. It is an inspiration.
For decades Tim Flannery has been making the same point but in a different way. He points out we are future-eaters who are eating the futures of future generations. Already they have been and are being denied the choices our older generations have had.
We must also ask ourselves how ethical is it to inflict the responsibility to protect nuclear waste created by current generations on countless future generations? How ethical is it to hasten and exacerbate climate change? How ethical is it to cut down the relatively small amount of ancient forest left in the world, including Bass Coast Shire and detrimentally affect biodiversity, leading to flora and fauna extinctions and loss of lifestyle amenity, indeed life itself. As David Attenborough says, "We are walking a tragic road of extinction."
Laura and Terry, you are are treasures who enrich the Bass Coast community in so many creative and heart-centred ways. You bring colour, warmth, connection and hope to so many of us in these often depressing, dismal times. You encourage me to keep 'holding, wonder and grief together' and know that I'm not alone.
As Jane Goodall says,
Together we can. Together we will.