ISSUE 8 | ENVIRONMENT | AUG 2017

Page 61

61

As Human beings, we construct our moral identity by unifying our past, present and future. I am conscious of the journeys of my ancestors and their footprints on the planet. I feel the deep pain of loss and grieve for the health of our lands and oceans. I daily lament the declining quality of life of our ocean, rivers and other watery environments. I reflect on how there are similar conditions of the life of one persona and another with completely different cultural backgrounds. As despite these obvious differences certain aspects of emotions and spirit are the same. What is life? What is death? What is mourning and bereavement? My mother is seventh generation white Australian with Scottish, English and Viking blood lines. I was born in Awabakal country and now I live in Bundjalung country. I am most happy when exploring the places where the Australian land meets the South Pacific Ocean. I am fed by the elements that sustain these meeting places as mother with father connecting spaces. The beach is charged with cleansing energy that opens my heart to personal presence and respect for ancient air, stone and ash. The vibrations sweep through my soul spirit and awaken every cell in my body mind. Water supports and nourishes me. I love surfing the beach and point breaks, but of late my imagination of great white sharks has been keeping me out of deep water and instead playing in the shore dumps with my daughter. The environment is expansive and embracing of a diversity of possibilities and perspectives. There is a quality of infinite source and returning to the essential elements of being. All my life I have walked along the tide line and tide pools, of seemingly pristine beaches, searching for beautiful sea shells. Listening to the sound of the sea echoing in the hollow of the shells, I felt their value and returned them to the beach. Over the years, I have developed the practice of carrying a bucket to collect rubbish as I roam. In my lifetime, I have noticed remarkable increases in small pieces of plastic dotting the landscape, especially after intense storms and flooding. Whilst I endeavor to reuse and recycle when possible, I have immense guilt about the plastic bags, packaging and items we consume. New dance work floats on toxic tides: Previous choreography and performance works always include a considered convergence of bodies, space, materials, light, sound and audience. My most recent solo work, ‘Mermaid Tears’, is a moving lament for the trillions of tonnes of plastic rubbish destroying our oceans and waterways. The work premiered at the 2016 Artlands regional conference in Dubbo NSW. I recently performed this work in schools and cultural museums in Bali Indonesia. As an ongoing improvisation, I continue to challenge the personal philosophy, heart yearning and draw on the belly utterances I am writing about in this article. Floating on toxic tides, plastics quickly break apart despite taking hundreds of years to decompose. Large plastic pieces, including bags and bottles, may entangle or kill wildlife that consume them but micro-­‐plastics are insidious pollutants for all living things. ‘Mermaid Tears’ integrates solo dancer with plastic objects, music, audience and the site of the storytelling. Whilst searching for a place of belonging and


Issuu converts static files into: digital portfolios, online yearbooks, online catalogs, digital photo albums and more. Sign up and create your flipbook.