The academic and artist working to connect us to Country | My Garden Path | Gardening Australia

Описание: We meet archaeologist and artist Maddison Miller who is working to connect us more deeply with the places we call home. Subscribe 🔔 http://ab.co/GA-subscribe
Maddison Miller is a Darug woman, archaeologist, artist, and a researcher at the University of Melbourne. “I'm working with ecologists and scientists to answer questions around how we care for Country, how do we come together with Indigenous knowledge, that spans tens of thousands of years, and modern science to care for and look after this place?”

Growing up surrounded by the beautiful bushland of Kinglake, Victoria, allowed Maddi to form a strong connection with nature and Country. In 2009 the Black Saturday bushfires tore through the landscape, having a profound effect on both the environment and Maddi. “To see that sort of devastation in a place that had been so safe for me, I think really woke me up to the realities of Country, of what it needs, of what we're not doing. These big changes, like climate change, like mismanagement of Country, are fuelling these devastating, catastrophic wildfires.”

In her past work as an archaeologist in Melbourne, Maddi excavated urban sites. Through this work, she discovered that “Country is everywhere... and this beating heart of Wurundjeri Country in particular, still exists even in the concreted urban jungle that is Melbourne. We don't stop caring for Country where the concrete starts. And in our own backyards, in our own gardens, that's still Country and we all have a responsibility to care for it.”

Maddi has combined her academic and artistic interests, including field recording the sounds of the bush and recently recording the stories of First Nations knowledge holders for the exhibition ‘Emu Sky’. The exhibition is curated by First Nations woman Zena Cumpston and aims to bring Indigenous knowledges from a range of scientific backgrounds together in expressive artforms. Maddi’s work ‘Yilabara Ngara’ asks the visitor to sit and listen to the stories of four Indigenous knowledge holders and reflect on how they can also contribute to Country.

“I hope people that visit my piece, and visit the show also, really take away that sense of hope, of action for the future, of this idea of coming together in respect and working together to help heal Country for the generations to come.”

The Emu Sky Exhibition runs until 21 August 2022 (extended since filming) at The University of Melbourne, Parkville Campus.

Featured Plant:
RIVER RED GUM - Eucalyptus camaldulensis

Filmed on Wurundjeri Woi Wurrung Country | Kinglake West, Vic
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Thanks to the artists of the Emu Sky exhibition whose work features in the story:
Untitled walam-wunga.galang (grindstones) - Jonathan Jones with Dr Uncle Stan Grant Snr AM

Sediment Cores - Associate Professor Michael-Shawn Fletcher

Emu Sky and Karnka (digging sticks) - Uncle Badger Bates

marrum (overflowing) – Jonathan Jones (including shots of Bartii kulthi partii - David Doyleand Gypsum seed containers – Jonathan Jones with Auntie Yvonne Koolmatrie)

Baban darrang (mother tree) – Genevieve Grieves

Language Posters - Brooke Wandin, with Madeline Critchley, Jax Plumley and Zena Cumpston

Leempeeyt Weeyn (campfire) - Dr Vicki Couzens, 2021

Yilabara Ngara - Maddi Miller
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