Documenting Sarah Tomasetti’s river banners for the Birrarung: On The River exhibition at Chapman and Bailey. The exhibition featured a mix of professional artists and the wider community of Birrarung devotees in response to living and working on the river. Sarah invited me to photograph the de-install which was a wonderful way to clock the movement and texture of the pieces.
“Breaststroke is perfect for wild-water swimming. With eyes at water level, it allows me to take everything in. I look up to the Native Golden Wattles and Yarra gums growing impossibly out of the rocky cliffs on the other side of the river. Bobbing across the water’s surface are thousands of golden sweet-smelling flower heads from the wattles. It’s like a starry, starry night-sky. A pair of Snow Geese are spotted in the distance gathering insects in the reeds, while a raft of Pacific black-ducks glide by and attempt to herd us into shore.”
Carolyn Tate
