What is calling through this art?

Daniel Church at the opening of his exhibition at ArtSpace. Photos: Laura Brearley and Terry Melvin

By Laura Brearley
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DARUG artist and sculptor Daniel Church will be a special guest at a Deep Listening Circle being held to accompany his exhibition This is My Story currently showing at Wonthaggi ArtSpace.

Curated by Ursula Theinert, Susan Hall and Karin Ellis, the exhibition reveals Daniel’s creative journey of recovery through trauma and heartbreak.

​The artist has lost many people he has loved and has witnessed deaths in custody first-hand. His healing has come through the making of art, drawing on a deep well of connection to culture and Country. In Daniel’s words  … 

​Songlines
Kangaroo and Sea People
The Darug
Meeting on the land and sea
All along the coast of Country

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Travels of my Ancestors
Like flying foxes
Shadows in the sky
Ancestors always watching over us
 
Rivers that flow
Meeting places
Colours of the Land and the Tree of Life
Songlines flowing through Darug Country
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Daniel Church is a mature artist, thoughtful and quietly spoken. He is able to hold sorrow and beauty together and his artworks express the texture and dynamic tension of that. They reveal a personal story of survival, made possible by the strength he derives from his culture and Country. Daniel’s work also illuminates the universal story of suffering and the extraordinary human capacity to endure the unendurable.

Against the backdrop of colonisation and all that has been lost, Daniel is still here, making art, reaching out and telling stories. His generosity and courage are palpable in the work. His paintings, wood sculptures and poetry invite us into a deep appreciation of Daniel himself, his First Nations’ culture and the healing power of connecting to community and Country.

Supported by The Torch Project, Daniel has been called on his journey of creative healing and recovery. In turn, his artwork and his words call to us.
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Calling
Calling through this art
Connecting back to culture
Family and forgiveness
The journey continues
 
The Dreaming of our Ancestors
Creating still
Our culture
Eternal love
 
True and strong
Flowing forever
Like the oceans
And the tides
 
A Deep Listening Circle is an opportunity to listen deeply and respectfully to stories and to the silences and spaces between them. Deep Listening involves a special kind of attention where we listen with our whole being, not just our ears. Deep Listening builds community and compassion for all living beings. In the words of Wamba Wamba artist and musician Uncle Ron Murray:
 
‘For Aboriginal people Deep Listening comes naturally
It’s about walking on the land
Softly, quietly
And listening to the stories around the campfire
 
Listening to the Elders
Listening to the teachers
Respect for Elders and respect for all people
And giving everyone the time
 
We’ve got to listen to the wind in the trees
Listen to the birds
It’s the feeling of a gift
A gift always comes back’.
Source: Laura Brearley (Editor), 2010. Gulpa Ngawal Indigenous Deep Listening, RMIT University, Melbourne.
 
The focus of the Deep Listening Circle being held in association with Daniel’s exhibition is a key question: ‘What is calling through this art?’ The Circle will create time and space for participants to explore this idea through the sharing of stories, ideas, and the practice of deep and respectful listening.

​Alongside Daniel Church, other special guests at the Deep Listening Circle will include Uncle Steve Ulula Parker, Traditional Custodian, artist and ceremony maker and musician Mark Finsterer. Uncle Steve and Mark are both lead artists for the Phillip Island Conservation Society Eco Arts project ‘For Our Future’, supported by Bass Coast Shire Council. Laura Brearley, Coordinator of the ‘For Our Future’ project will be facilitating the Deep Listening Circle.
 
Daniel Church’s exhibition is open until March 5. 

You can register for the Deep Listening Circle at Eventbrite.

Learn more about Daniel's journey and art in This is My Story. ​