Delighted to have the Weaving soundscape featured as a part of the within // without exhibition by Rowiina Howard in Narm/Melbourne, from September 23rd-October 19th.
The soundscape features field recordings from Kanamaluka Country in northern Lutruwita/Tasmania, capturing the summer dusk, evening and dawn.
Among the she-oaks, the wind whispers. As the sun softens and begins to slip beneath the trees, an ambisonic microphone is nestled by the dam amongst the reeds, recording soft crickets, fluttering fairy wrens and watery splashes. In the early evening, microphones by the porch sit listening to the sounds of microbats chittering, flying swiftly out to dance in the clear sky beneath full moon. Leaves shift in the breeze and chimes glimmer, as the cool air moves through the branches. In the early dawn, a new chorus sings; each voice in harmony, weaving a sonic fabric where each thread intertwines into a comforting blanket of song.
The “Weaving” soundscape is a thank you to the cyclical hum of the forest, the rhythms found between nightfall and the new dawn. Upon first arriving to site, the inner world is crowded and busy. Layers of sound synthesise this experience through texture, repetition and the tension of arpeggiated melody. As more time is spent in stillness, the mind begins to settle and recalibrate, increasingly leaving space for new insight and for the weaving of past, present and imagined sound. Upon each iteration, the song is experienced anew as elements ebb and flow. “Woven” is a moment of reflection, listening to the sounds themselves as an invitation to appreciate the quiet details of site, and to recognise the gentler inner landscapes they inspire.
Rowiina discusses their work and the points of inspiration for their exhibition, within // without:
“These are the blessings of my daily life. I am aware of my immense privilege in being surrounded by such joys, with the understanding that not everyone has such luxury. Yet the offerings of Earth’s abundance and beauty can be seen in cities too, it just takes more focused awareness to discern them. A flowering weed emerging from a gap between concrete and wall; melding colours of peach, pink and blue-skied dusk; robust strength of a decades-old tree beside a train station, quietly bearing witness.
Made specifically for Glimpse Art Space, within // without calls us to remember our intrinsic spiritual connection with Earth and Her gifts. This unique gallery offers the opportunity to observe without immersion. To feel without touching. To look closely from beyond. The separation of this exhibition space serves as an enticement to actively engage with the living world as a daily practice. To connect with the places we spend time in, even if we are only staying for a few days. To pause for a time and observe the breath, understanding that this can be a form of devotion, another way to feel connected with abundant offerings from the sentient Earth.
According to Emmanuel Vaughn-Lee’s book Remembering Earth: A Spiritual Ecology, there is a rupture between spirit and matter, a severing of humans from our ancestral places of kinship with Earth. We are no longer re-visiting the places our families visited for generations, imprinting our relationship with each step, rooting ourselves within the land. When these kinship ties of love unravel, we become unmoored, ungrounded. We are now mostly a society drifting, untethered from place… The world must be braided back together, spirit and matter interwoven once more.” – Rowiina Howard
“Delightful splash of fairy wrens dipping in the water feature
Fresh scent of breeze stirring cool Eucalypt leaves
Vibration of micro-bat wings against vertical
weatherboard, stretching awake for nocturnal emergence.”
– Rowiina Howard