JANUARY 28, 2022 - MARCH 5, 2022
The paintings in Christopher Pease‘s current body of work, Lost in Translation, represent the misinterpretation of the land since the time of colonisation, where places, rivers and country are changed with disregard for the traditional way of caring for boodjar, culture and historical meaning.
The Nyoongar people of the south-western corner of this island continent have always been, and remain, the custodians of the land. Before and after colonisation, they helped maintain the land in the through fire management and sustainable fishing and farming methods. They also had an intimate and innate understanding of the rivers and streams as well as the wetlands that form the filters to the vast river system of the south west.
Water is the Ngoorp (blood) of the land that feeds the Koort (heart). The Boodjar (land) is the body, and the body cannot live without the blood. If blood cannot flow to one part of the body it will die. If the blood is poisoned the body will die.
Many areas of the south-west are losing habitat to introduced animals and alien plants that are disrupting or destroying the local water systems. Dunsborough Lakes is a suburb which is built almost entirely on reclaimed wetlands. It’s an area that once acted as a giant eco-system for fish, amphibians and birds as well as a filtration system for the water returning to the ocean.
The traditional way of learning about Country is through song and dance, which ties lyrics and actions to the landscape. Songs can describe the geography of an area, the seasons, the plants and animals.
I have incorporated traditional dance into many of my previous paintings for this reason; to show the relationship between culture, song and dance and the land.
The paintings in this current body of work, Lost in Translation, represent the misinterpretation of the land since the time of colonisation, where places, rivers and country have been disrupted or changed with no regard for the traditional way of caring for boodjar, culture or historical meaning.
Christopher Pease
2021