“’The Garden of Eden’ was irrigated. The origin of Eden means fruitful and well-watered. Gardens in the desert and the politics of water scarcity are as old as civilization.”
Margaret Simons – ‘Cry me a River’. Quarterly Essay 2020
Part large scale puzzle, part performance in a plumbed landscape, Way-the Water-the Walk (Reserved for the Convenience or Pleasure of the People) invites the public into the push, pull and complex balancing act of water management.
The Murray-Darling Basin is not a singular place. Its name derives from the two major rivers, the Murray River and the Darling River. Covering over one million square kilometres through 40 First Nations and four States, the basin drains about one seventh of Australian’s total land mass and is one of the most significant agricultural areas in Australia.
Separated from land since 2014, its water has become an asset, a financial product, a ‘blue gold’, and global investors are thirsty for it. No longer a natural resource to which everyone has a right, the Murray Darling Basin’s recent signs of system collapse open a barrage of issues.
With this focus on the Murray Darling Basin, the Way-the Water-the Walk poses a ‘wicked problem’, one that is byzantine to behold and complex to solve.
It is a river basin ‘simulator’ offering an experience that highlights the stakes at play and draws from the multiple mechanisms affecting the Murray Darling Basin in which Mount Alexander and Djaara Country are located.
Leap into this convergence, play in the currents, test thresholds and trial solutions.
the Way-the Water-the Walk can be viewed and witnessed
in the Stoneman Gallery at the Castlemaine Art Museum.
Work in progress viewings: Gallery open days from 23 July, 12 noon – 4.00pm
Public preview: Thursday 13 August anytime between 12 noon – 4.00pm
Public viewing and participation: Friday 14 August, Saturday 15 August, and Sunday 16 August anytime between 12 noon - 4.00pm
the Way-the Water-the Walk is by
Jude Anderson (concept and direction)
Morwenna Schenck (simulator lighting & design)
Georgia Symons (simulator game design)
Jacques Soddell (sound design)
Briega Young & Josiah Lulham (performance)
Miles Bennett (on-line experience)
... and the voices of local residents.
This project has received the generous support of the Community Impact Foundation - Claire Brunner Pool of Dreams.
