EXHIBITIONS 2011
 
HARRY NANKIN : SYZYGY
Presented as part of Art is...under our sky 2011
HRAG JUBILEE HALL 21 ROBERT AVENUE
12 March 1 May 20011

Lake Tyrrell in the Victorian Mallee once served as an indigenous celestial observatory. The heavens mirrored in its shallow waters informed a sacred reciprocitry of sky with country. A reciprocity long since ruptured. Syzygy reflects upon this sacrament and its loss by using the (now usually dry) lakebed as an imaging surface upon which photographic films are exposed directly to the ambient light of the moonless night sky without a camera. The resulting shadow prints cast by starlight invert the trace of live native invertebrates gathered from around the lake shore, the footprints of dancers performing on the salt lakebed, found items and rare fragile astronomical glass plate photographs brought to the location. The kinetic ‘touch’ of creatures, flesh, objects and emulsions and the photochemical ‘punctum’ of ancient cosmic light imprinting the exquisite final capture attempt to articulate a gentle indexical (physical) reciprocity with the site and stars. A reciprocity all but absent from our contemporary relationship with terrestrial nature.

A chance discussion about Mallee skies with artist and scholar Dr Paul Carter in April 2003 inspired the making of Syzygy. Over the course of the project Dr Carter (assisted by Dr Emily Potter) has been the primary informant in respect to the natural, literary and indigenous history and significance of Lake Tyrrell. Astrophysicist and educator Dr Maurizio Toscano provided essential astrophysical advice and facilitated access to the astronomical glass plates held by the Physics Department at the University of Melbourne. Rudy Frank helped design and build much of the equipment. Creating Syzygy involved hundreds of hours of darkroom processing and fifteen multi-day field trips to Lake Tyrrell between April 2007 and June 2009. During those two years two dozen volunteers (half from overseas) helped in the often exhausting day and night-long field work. The project was made possible by funds generously provided under Arts Victoria’s Arts Innovation and the Australia Council for the Arts InterArts grant programs.

Syzygy was produced by the artist in collaboration with Dr Paul Carter and Dr Maurizio Toscano, with the
technical help of Rudy Frank and the generous assistance of many volunteers. Audio documentation was
provided by Christopher Williams.
 
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Image: Harry NANKIN, Syzygy 14 Ophiucus 2
ABN 37 019 724 765