Dakota Feirer, Water & Smoke III, 2021, single channel digital video, colour, sound

Display History

Wollongong Art Gallery, Here + Now III: Reassess Progress, May - August 2022

Artist Statement

Water & Smoke III is a contemplative mosaic of sound, poetry and film gathered from Country from south to north including Walbunja-Yuin, Dharawal and Gadigal Country. The calling and signaling to Country that we are approaching with accountability and respect to do business – in this case, to cleanse and yarn ‘progress’ – opens up the exhibition space itself, and calls on the power of Country on which the Gallery stands.

Sounds of flowing fresh water, birds and smoldering flames hold eminence in the foreground of the work. As Country speaks for itself. The sound and image of the artist’s practice of healing with the aid of the two elements (water and smoke) illustrates the premise inherent to the work: Country is inexorable to the human condition, it involves a reciprocal relationship dependent on respect and care.

Water & Smoke III is a dance of duality and coexistence. A balance between privilege and burden, between water and smoke. The spoken narrative explores a dream, a purpose and a critique of western imaginings of progress. As the work echoes throughout the space, it begs a broader question: what kind of ancestor do you want to be?