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Multi-species anthropologist Deborah Bird-Rose speaks of these rhythms and vibrancies as shimmer (in a translation of Yolngu word bir’yun—a brilliance or shimmering). It was such a pleasure to behold the shimmer of the area in the Australasian Gannets soaring and diving along Jimmy’s beach, a single watchful Sacred Kingfisher in the mangroves of Pindimar, the stoic Spangled Drongos in Hawks Nest, the total orchestra of birdlife moving with the tides along the Tea Gardens foreshore and of course the dolphins (and squid!) from the solitude of the Gunyah jetty.
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During my time at Gunyah (with shimmer in mind) I completed a costume for presentation at the Powerhouse Museum, and re-purposed a large textile for an upcoming show. I read deeper into Jane Bennet’s Vibrant Matter, and felt my sense of self, place and time collapse and expand. It was also so nice to have time and space to do really simple parts of my practice that are the first to disappear when things get busy—to sketch, to play, to dance.
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I will really hold onto the things I’ve learned and experienced here at Gunyah. Immense gratitude to the Gunyah team, and of course to this vibrant country—Worimi, Worimi, Worimi.
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Blake Lawrence
Gunyah residency report
June 2022
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