Under the forest and Ladyswamp ( a radio play and a sonic poem)

Abstract

\u27Under the Forest\u27&nbsp; and \u27Ladyswamp\u27 are audio recordings created in collaboration with musician/ sound artist Tom Kazas. As the first outputs of the ongoing Lyrebird project (fully documented at writingfix.com.au) both works reinvent history in artistic form. At the same time they consider the aftermath of inappropriate farming techniques, representing the sense of disconnection the settlers immediately have from any historical continuity or indigenous relationship to land. In focussing on a regional area in Victoria and the stories that emerge from here, this practice-led research has implications for all other regional areas in countries throughout a world in a time of climate change. The two pieces, linked by the flow of water from the upper catchment of the Tarwin River, to the river flats near the South Gippsland coast, embody the presence of location via poetic means; the flow is from erosion to silt: of land becoming water, becoming land. In the sound design the locations are also represented poetically without losing the actuality of their haunting geography.The two audio works were first presented at the Double Dialogues Conference: \u27The 21st century - The Event, The Subject, The Artwork\u27, Fiji, 2012, and are published in In/Stead, Issue 4, 2013 alongside a discursive article, &lsquo;Under the forest &amp; Ladyswamp: a radio play &amp; a sonic poem&rsquo;. Extracts of the audio appear on Youtube. The process of &lsquo;Ladyswamp&rsquo; appears on an educational video currently in production by Deakin University.<br /