Heike Qualitz Jigamy Photos

Jigamy Friday Night

Jigamy Friday Night

Jigamy Friday Night

Jigamy Friday Night

Taming the Chi

Yoshimi

Joseph Mougel — Bellbirds

Brother Joseph has done some terrific work in Australia. One work he began fairly early on was inspired by the Bellbirds, whose unique "ping" call we all encountered at one point or another on the Far South Coast (specifically, at our first field location at Pambula Lake, near the town of Eden). The work has developed into a sound installation, utilizing paper coffee cups collected throughout our travels in Australia. Below is Joseph's statement, along with his recording of the Bellbird calls and supporting images.

Bellbirds

Bell Miners live in communal groups in the forests of southeastern Australia. They establish territories in which they feed on the honeydew secretions of insects that, in turn, feed on eucalyptus sap. Many of the forests are managed by the timber industry, which periodically thins sick, small, or malformed trees from the ecosystem. Due to the culling of trees, the forest fails to support the diversity of insect and animal life that a mature forest would normally sustain.

As trees are removed from the forest, the timber industry ships them to Japan to be processed into paper, which then returns to Australia in the form of consumer goods.

Bellbirds recreates the birds’ natural habitat through a collection of coffee cups and sound installation, which will ultimately allow for audience interaction with the piece. The variously branded cups are evidence of the diversity of businesses offering society caffeinated beverages, while the paper from which the cups are made suggests the plethora of trees absent from the forest. A recording of the bird’s intermittent calls emanates from the cups. As viewers enter the space, they trigger the birds to defend their forest from intruders, leading to a crescendo of sound. The installation maintains the frequency and intensity of the bird calls for the period of time that the viewers remain in front of the piece, only returning to the original intervals of bird calls and silence after the audience has left the immediate area.

6/24-25 Bonfire...Then Back to Canberra

On our last full day at Calperum Station, I helped Cedra document work she was doing in the field. Most of the photos were taken on her camera and will be used to create paintings. I have a few preliminary photos (and included 2 related drawings in this photo set). This particular piece was inspired by tiny lime-green melons, which grow naturally in the area. Stay tuned for finished paintings...and all of our completed projects from work started in Australia.

Later that evening we went to a pub and got Joseph some (SURPRISE!) balloons for his belated birthday (he got sick on the actual day...and of course didn't want to advertise it was his birthday anyway. Luckily Cedra remembered!). Back at camp, Bryn set fire to his "Wicker Man" which slowly burned away in the mesmerizing flames.

The field portion of the trip now completed, we set out the next morning, June 25, for Canberra. Along the way we had a group photo taken at the border between the Shire of Hay (say Ha-aaaay!) and the Shire of Wakool (say Way COOL!). Joseph provided the opportunity for the full group photo, which also made for fun photos of him trying to beat his timer with balloons in hand. Then Liz rolled in the grasses to prove that, even though it was actually full of spurs and prickly things, it looked so soft from a distance that it made her want to roll around in it. Kudos to you, Liz. Then we came across a bizarre burning field (likely intentional). Still don't know the full story with this one... Enjoy.

6/28 Winding the Line (A Jump to the Present)

Knowing that much has to be posted still about the remainder of this Australian adventure, I'd like to return to real time here because the immediacy of what I'm feeling is important. 

The line is winding back into a coil. We wound back our line from Calperum to Canberra and now from Canberra to Sydney. In a matter of hours, the winding will take me back across the Pacific to LA and then to San Francisco. There's something about this that makes me sad because what has transpired here can now only exist as memory. Its forefront is no longer in the present moment.

We are in the process of saying goodbye, though in many cases, it is very likely to be an "until we meet again" rather than a goodbye. It still, however, feels like goodbye. We've said our goodbyes to the Field Studies artists from Jigamy and Calperum. Yoshi was called away earlier in the trip, even though his spirit of levity and generosity stayed with us throughout. And as for John Reid, who is pure, unadulterated class, our inevitable goodbyes somehow still managed to feel premature. It would have felt premature regardless of how or when it was done.

Of the remainder of us who came from the States to embark on this amazing journey together — Bill, Cedra, Joseph and me — we say our goodbyes tomorrow at varying times. It is a testament to Bill and John that these goodbyes resonate with me as strongly as they do and especially to Bill for bringing all of us together.

Blake, Yoshi, Cedra, Joseph and Bill at Sublime Point, photo by John Reid