Katie Gane in residence

I arrived at 1450 with the intention of making a piece of work for the John Glover landscape prize, while allowing myself time for much needed rest and nourishment. I wanted to discover the specific nuances, and subtle, barely tangible visions that vibrate just beyond the surface of a place I was experiencing with fresh eyes. I wanted to see Mona, and absorb all it’s multi-dimensional depths. I wanted to see what arose from my spirit after a particularly challenging 2 years facing my own mortality. I was immediately welcomed by Victoria and Simon with great kindness, good food, stimulating conversation, and a space that freely allowed me the peace and gentleness for my musings to arise. For the first three days, I wandered the countryside, communing with the elements. I had profound visions of the abundant watery lagoons running with the blood of hundreds of generations of people who lived and swam with the tides, who were no longer anywhere to be found, but whose presence I could feel all around me. I searched out the language and stories of Nyunoni country. I was aware of the women who dived for oysters while their children played on the shore. I learnt about the whales that had once so densely occupied the bays. I saw the sadness in the eyes of the last captured thylacine, a profound metaphor for all the beauty and brutality and complexity of this special little isle of Avalon at the bottom of the world. And on my final day, ‘survival day’, I ventured into the landscape with Sarah to commune with, activate and record all the richness I felt in my time here. Sarah noted that it appeared as though I was releasing the blood from the water, and back into the ether. The experience imprinted precious and transcendent wonders on my consciousness.

Katie Gane - February 2017

For more by Katie Gane visit https://kategane.wordpress.com