In this work Fish out of Water – Murray Cod, I worked with petrified red gum, which is between 5000-9000 years old and sourced from the Murray River. I made nine organic forms – grinding and sanding the wood into forms that are beautiful to hold. The petrified red gum carries within it stories of the Murray River, this continent, its cultural history, and the floods, droughts, fires that have affected this landscape. I feel that each organic form vibrates with the history that it carries. On each, I have painted a Murray Cod – a fish out of water – a comment on this changing continent, its climate, culture and demographic.
I then travelled the length of the Murray River and selected nine locations beginning at Cudgewa Creek and ending where the river runs to the ocean at Goolwa. There are two separate bodies of work in this project – one sculptural and one a photographic documentation of each fish specific to its location. Following are the the nine Murray Cod photographs from Cudgewa Creek, Bonegilla, Boomanoomana, Barmah, Swan Hill, Boundary Bend, Kings Billabong, Lyrup Flats to Goolwa.
1. cudgewa creek, victoria, colour photograph, 40h x 60w cm, 2015
2. bonegilla, victoria, colour photograph, 40h x 60w cm, 201
3. boomanoomana, new south wales, colour photograph, 40h x 60w cm, 2015
4. barmah, victoria, colour photograph, 40h x 60w cm, 2015
5. swan hill, victoria, colour photograph, 40h x 60w cm, 2015
6. boundary bend, victoria, colour photograph, 40h x 60w cm, 2015
7. kings billabong, victoria, colour photograph, 40h x 60w cm, 2015
8. lyrup flats, south australia, colour photograph, 40h x 60w cm, 2015
9. goolwa, south australia, colour photograph, 40h x 60w cm, 2015