We were delighted to sponsor fabric printing for the Holding Space Exhibition. The exhibition formed part of YIRRAMBOI Festival held in Melbourne.
“A love letter to Cummeragunja and the Barmah Forest. Land holds memories of grief and joy, it tells our stories of resilience and love.” This sentence informed the motivation and preceding works of the immersive exhibition.
Curators Jirra Lulla and Apryl Day, two proud Yorta Yorta women pay homage to the ancestral home of Cummeragunja. The small Aboriginal community is placed on the banks of the the Dhungala River (Murray River.)
Holding Space centred around a short film in collaboration with Garuwa production company. The film was presented on the big screen and premiered at the exhibition. As part of the multidisciplinary works, stills from the film were displayed as large photographs and fabric hangings alongside poetic exerts. Flowers were used to bring scent and tactility to the exhibition. The experience successfully swept you up and dropped you next to the river as the sun sparkled off the water and stories were shared by people and nature alike.
We were privileged to print large fabric artworks on our Crepe fabric featuring scenes from Cummeragunja. The fabric billowed in the wind and rippled like water, supporting the dreamy emotions that Holding Space evoked.
Cummeragunja in known for the 1939 walk-off in which community members living in a forced mission walked out due to abhorrent treatment and abuse of leadership. This sparked wide media coverage at the time for the representation of a civil uprising.
Apryl and Jirra wanted to create a space where we can see Cummeragunja through their eyes. Highlighting the important role of Elders in community and honouring them. Reflecting the beautiful ties to nature and the duality of joy and suffering.
A love of country
Holding Space exhibition created a sense of love for the beauty and wisdom of the land, elders and youth living in Cummeragunja and the Barmah Forest. The warmth projected from the people and the land in the film was captivating. Listening to how community tune into nature to hear the chatter of the birds and the movement of the grass for the stories they tell, makes you want to run to the tallest gum and stay silent.
A love of nature is a familiar happy place to most and being asked questions through the exhibition about memories you never want to forget and those you do, promotes reflection of what matters most.
I attended the exhibition with my young children who keenly watched the film and mimicked the bird noises, naming the sounds of animals they knew. They answered questions about what country means to them and thought about where they are most happy and who they love. It felt special to be with children at an exhibition which is designed to appreciate each other and what we have around us.
To find joy in the present and to take a moment to be slow and really listen to what nature is telling us feels a blessing in the pace of the world most days. What I took from this exhibition is to remember to daily take a moment and listen, maybe it is to rain or the rustle of the trees, stop and be present.
Thanks you to April and Jirra for involving us and exposing all those that attended to the love you have for Cummeragunja and the Barmah Forest.
By Chole Kerr
