Belong: Language connecting feeling, culture, country
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Free exhibition
Experience a culturally rich multimedia exhibition like no other – using a mixture of associated portraits, languages, and landscapes to showcase the rich and diverse culture within Western Australia.
Belong brings together the multiple collaborations of photo artist Martine Perret; in particular her projects that focus on Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander languages in Western Australia. It combines previous projects Ngala Wongga and Margillee with new collaborations, most notably with choreographer and dancer Dalisa Pigram, artist Edie Ulrich, Elder Vivian Brockman Webb, and music composer and video/sound editor Jonathan Mustard.
This exhibition highlights the link between Elders, language speakers and the land, and emphasises the cultural importance of languages. Presented to coincide with and to celebrate the UNESCO Decade of Indigenous Languages (2022-2032).
For many Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people in Australia, land is much more than soil, rocks, or minerals – it’s fundamental to identity and way of life. In this exhibition, Martine celebrates stories and new perspectives from Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people from across the State.
See how Martine uses stunning photography, video, audio, dance, and painting to showcase language, connection to land and the role body parts play in relating emotions.
In this exhibition
Come and experience an exhibition that provokes us to explore and understand the language connecting feeling, culture, and country including:
Nijiniji (Connection in Yawuru) – Awaken your senses with Yawuru speaker, choreographer, and Co-Artistic Director of contemporary dance group Marrugeku, Dalisa Pigram. Watch as she performs her interpretation of what it means for our physical bodies to be ‘joined’ to our emotions: “like bark to a tree”. Martine Perret collaborated with Dalisa and composer Jonathan Mustard to create this unique three-part video.
Mitchee Youp Bullargar (Coming Together) – Explore a collection of traditional and ceremonial objects from Vivian Brockman Webb’s family collection. Vivian (aka Dwardinan) is a Matriarch Elder from the Margaret River region in Western Australia. Step through a series of video installations, as Vivian shares her deep knowledge of Country, traditional land management and the importance of what we leave behind which is inspired by her late father’s book Nunyahboogera – My land.
Juruyinku Kujuyinkuya (Connection in Tjupan) – Step into a sensory space as Elder, Edie Ulrich combines traditional painting and sound to create an extraordinary cylindrical light installation. See a painting based on expressions of the language of emotion in Tjupan language, to form the basis of this incredible light installation drilled in the pattern of the painting around you.
Ngala Wongga (Come Talk) – Hear stories and songs from some of the last remaining speakers of over nine different languages from the Goldfields of Western Australia. Learn of their connection to land and culture in this sensorial installation – see floating layers of tulle fabric projecting exquisite video and rare audio of Aboriginal Elders sharing stories and songs.
The Margillee Cube – Immerse yourself in Doreen Harris’ (aka Margillee) story, exploring interconnectedness with the land, culture, and language – retelling part of the Seven Sisters dreamtime story, previously displayed at WA Museum. Listen to her story of reconnection to culture in this sensorial light box installation, showcasing exquisite aerial photography of the Goldfields’ salt lakes and symbolic storytelling using video, sound, and photography.
About the artist
Martine Perret is an award-winning photographic artist who was born in Paris, and now works and lives in Margaret River, Western Australia. Known for her startlingly beautiful portrayal of the Western Australian landscape, she uses aerial photography and portraiture to tell important stories of our times.
Martine’s approach to her artistic work is based on a career in photojournalism, including 10 years covering United Nations peacekeeping missions in conflict zones in South Sudan, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Burundi and Timor-Leste. During her time in West Africa, Martine documented the Ebola crisis.
Her recent projects Ngala Wongga (Come Talk) – Cultural Significance of Languages in the Goldfields and Belong – Language connecting feeling, culture, country highlight the importance of First Nations' languages and exemplify Martine’s approach to storytelling.
Martine’s immersive gallery installations feature her signature aerial landscapes, portraits, lighting, and soundscapes.
Website: Martine Perret Photography
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Images © Martine Perret
