COOKING WITH GAS
BUXTON CONTEMPORARY
CREATEDBYZODIEBOLIC
18MAY//12PM,1PM,2PM
PRODUCTIONNOTE
Imuststartwithaconfession.BeforemovingtoVictoriain2020, Ihadneverusedagasstove.Mychildhoodhomeisnot connectedtogas,andsoIneverreallyconceptualisedor understoodwhatnaturalgaswasorwhereitcamefrom.
COOKINGWITHGASisadirectresponsetomyshockatthe permeationofnaturalgaswithinVictoriansociety.Victoriauses moregasthananyotherstateorterritory,andalmost90%of Victorianhouseholdshaveagasappliance.Overtwothirdsof Victorianhomeshavegascooktops.Butit’snotjustthephysical presence;it’stheemotionalconnectiontogasaswell.Many Victoriansholdthebeliefthatgasisbetter;whetherthat’swhen heatingthefamilyhomeorcookingaheartydinner.
COOKINGWITHGASdealswiththisprevalenceofgasonthe mostpersonalandfamiliarlevel.Thekitchenstoveisthecentre pieceofeveryhome.It’salsonotnewtoapoliticalconversation, whetherthat’sacountertopconversationortheABC’sKitchen Cabinet. Iinviteyoutoconsidertheworkasacalltoaction;itisinallour intereststotransitionawayfromnaturalgasuse.Theconsensus ofclimatescientistsandorganisationsacrosstheworldisthat weneedtostopdevelopingnewgasandoilprojectsandphase outfossilfuelstoavoidaclimatecatastrophe.
BarrierscontinuetoemergeinAustralia’stransitionawayfrom gas.The‘FutureGasStrategy’,published9May,has environmentalgroupscomingtogetherinuniversal condemnation,callingitarevivaloftheMorrisonera‘gas-led recovery’planthatwillultimatelyleadtomoreemissions.
Atthesametime,wehavemovementsemergingacrossthe countryidentifyingthemselvesas‘NIMBYs’,agroup characterisedbywelcomingdevelopmentandregulationchange inareasotherthanwheretheylive.Whilstthisframingis somethingmorewidelydiscussedinrelationtohousingsupply,I believeitisaframingthatsuitsthediscussionofAustralia’s domesticgastransition.
Thisworkattemptstobringtheseideastogether,utilisingthe mediumofsugarasbothasreferencetomyhometown,andas aningredientwe’reallintimatelyfamiliarwith.Havingbeenborn andraisedinMackay,aplaceknownasAustralia’ssugarcapital, thesiteofacanfieldorasugarcanemillisafamiliarsight.Within thework,weutilisesugartobuildanddestroy,toownandto share. IinviteyoutoconsideryourowngasuseasyouwatchCOOKING WITHGAS.Asyouleave,Iencourageyoutotakestepsto electrifyyourownhome,andadvocateforAustralia’stransition offgas.
CREATIVETEAM
ConceptandDirection
ZodieBolic
Choreography
ZodieBolicwithNatalieKoch
Performers
ZodieBolicandNatalieKoch
WiththankstoBuxtonContemporaryand theUniversityofMelbourne’sWattleFellowship.
FurtherReading
The Grattan Institute. 2023. Getting off gas: why, how, and who shouldpay?www.grattan.edu.au/report/getting-off-gas/. Climate Council. 2022. Switch and Save: How Gas Is Costing Households.www.climatecouncil.org.au/resources/switch-and-savehow-gas-is-costing-households/