In 2019 I lead the planning and programming of the SALA Festival held at our school. Our school received a Commendation Award.
Exhibition Title: The Earth Beneath Our Feet In their footprints- Respecting the past, honouring the present and protecting the future.
Studio 1 and Studio 2 Year 4/5/6 Students Mandalas These mandalas seek balance in their intricate designs. Our lives, like the paintings themselves, are full of things fighting for our attention. We are bombarded almost 24/7 with voices, images and opinions on top of the commitments to family, school and other activities. Our lives fall into a pattern week in and week out in; we all seek a balance in our daily lives where we can grow as people, make a positive contribution to our community and tend to our own wellbeing.
The process of creation were moments of calm for the artists and they strive to share that calmness with the viewer.
Studio 4 Year 2/3 Students Recycled hand-made paper dress For 1000s of years the Peramangk were custodians of this land and lived sustainably upon it. The world our young artists have inherited is changing rapidly due to climate change and requires them to look at the world in different ways. The resources around them are no longer disposable, but precious and must be reused and recycled in bold and innovative ways. This piece has rescued waste and made it functional and beautiful. The dress is constructed with hand-made paper and the flowers represent the blooming of a return to a sustainable lifestyle. At it’s heart is that most sacred place Uluru; a symbol our artists used to show that all our land should be treated as sacred so we can protect our future.
Studio 3 Year 1/2 Students Light and Lanterns The Peramangk were the keepers of the flame. Bridgewater PS were inspired by this to host, for many years now, lantern walks as part of our journey towards healing and reconciliation. This work is an echo of the footsteps our school and community have taken together. The weaving of the lanterns acknowledges our different histories coming together in a shared present in which we all have responsibility for the land we inhabit and the direction we wish to take on our shared journey forward.
Respect of the Peramangk ownership of the land we live on is central to our school’s values and this is represented through the centre of this installation. The mosaic works were built by many hands. Each individual piece is unique but together they speak of Watta, Kakirra, Tarra and Yultiwirra; our school house names and a small step we have taken to keep the flame of Peramangk language alive.
Studio 9 Year 6/7 Students Our Place, Our Footsteps “We want to walk with you, we don’t want to walk alone.” Sir Doug Nicholls
These are works of our place and our footsteps upon it. These are works of Reconciliation. We tread on the same place as the Peramangk have left their footsteps for thousands of years before us. A shared place has led to a shared history. When Peramangk footsteps were joined by colonial footsteps they experienced devastating land dispossession and a fight for their very survival. These paintings reflect an historical acceptance of the past and a hope that we can walk together in the future on the road to Reconciliation. Our artists acknowledge the past and want to ensure these wrongs are never repeated.
Here is our place in all its beauty. Our footsteps tread bravely into the future.
Studio 6, Studio 7 and Studio 8 Reception, Year 1/2 Students Woven Triangles The three points of the triangles represent child, parent and school. All three form an unbreakable bond nurturing each other. The child grows and becomes part of the community they exist in. The triangle exists now and will grow again as the child becomes a parent; as such, this work speaks of the present and the future.
Studio 4 and Studio 7 Reception, Year 1/2/3 Students Dandelions – Make a wish for our future The simple act of picking, blowing and wishing upon a dandelion is a treasured memory from many adults of childhood. What would they wish for if they could once again cast a wish as the child they once were? As you view these paintings, why not make a wish for our future; a wish with the hope, innocence and inspiration f a child.
What do our children wish for our future? A world which is kinder, a world which heals old wounds and where we all walk together and look after one another and the land we share.
Studio 9 Year 6/7 Students Connecting Spaces These pieces are all about our relationship to our school. Inside each box is a painting which was composed using the mathematical principle of the Golden Ratio. The paintings show a part of the school special to the artist. The words around the inside describe each individual’s experience. The pattern on the back, in school colours, is individual to each box, but put together, makes up a pattern bigger and more intricate. This represents the way that all of us are individuals, but together we make a class that can be greater than the sum of its parts