A thought-provoking exhibition addressing land management choices since colonisation – and in the context of climate change – is asking us to rethink our land care practices.
Said Hanrahan: Land. Care. Climate. Crisis was launched at the Museum of the Riverina’s Historic Council Chambers site on Saturday 12 August, and the community is invited to attend the event.
Wagga Wagga Art Gallery and the Museum of the Riverina have partnered to present the exhibition, inspired by John O’Brien’s 1921 poem ‘Said Hanrahan’.
The exhibition features historical photographs from the Riverina which show the development of farming, land management practices and the harsh environmental circumstances of droughts, floods and fires.
Alongside the photographs are the artworks of Canberra-based artist Wendy Teakel, Wiradjuri artist Lorraine Connelly Northey and Wagga Wagga-based photographer Tayla Martin.
Gallery director Dr Lee-Anne Hall said “each artist offers insight into our relationship to land and the challenges before us”.
“Raised on a farm in the Riverina, Wendy Teakel explores her deep connection with the land, while also investigating the effects of farming practices on the natural environment through her artistic work,” said Dr Hall.
“The work of Lorraine Connelly Northey reflects upon traditional agricultural practices of Aboriginal women in the gathering of Yam Daisies.”
In the photographs from Tayla Martin, the state of the environment under stress is apparent during recent flood events and the 2020 Dunns Road Fire.
