Kate Dorrough

St Dominics Prayer Room and the town of Kandos, NSW
19 - 22nd September, 2024

Under the curatorial leadership of Dr Daniel Mudie Cunningham and the First Nations curator Jo Albany

EXHIBITION STATEMENT

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The river is a source of fertility, a provider of water and renewal. Kandos historically an industrial town, water was used in the manufacture of cement, a weir blocked the natural flow of the Cudgegong River. This work acknowledges the significance of local waterways, releasing and bringing the river into the town of Kandos. Man-made artificial constructions mimic the natural, textile hangings evoke a theatrical river wonderland, video with voices of the community discuss the ecological significance and river experiences, and participatory theatrical river costumes are offered; whereby we can all become active performers and caretakers of the river.

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ARTIST STATEMENT

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For over a decade my art practice has focused on the river, as a subject and as a symbolic metaphor, focusing on the ecological, cultural and political significance of the river within our landscape. The river is a source of fertility, a provider of water and renewal.

Kandos, historically an industrial town centred and linked to the Kandos Cement Company, where water was an essential element in the manufacturing of cement. The Kandos Weir built in 1930 supplied water from the Cudgegong River.  Alongside existing man made weirs and dams in the region many remnants of industry appear as ruins or artefacts within the landscape. I am interested in this collision between the artificial construction and pre-existing water courses.

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This installation is a theatrical experience where the audience is invited into a darkened mysterious water wonderland. This prayer room pays homage to the river, walking around the immersive space to become part of the river. Constructed concrete sculptures suggest water effigies which mimic the natural and textiles hang from ceiling to floor acting as directional theatrical side wings. Cement bowls embedded with shells and ceramic shards hold water, as offerings evoking a shrine and the river’s ancient source.

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The projected video, 'River Theatre'  filmed during my artist residency at WayOut Artspace, Kandos, feature diverse local waterways accompanied by the many voices of the community; local residents, regenerative farmers, community activists, indigenous leaders and local artists. Discussing and sharing ecological concerns, the history, political and emotional connections to the river.

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The textile element of the installation is extended to become theatrical ‘River Costumes’, which are offered as a participatory element of the work, allowing us all become active performers and caretakers of the river. The costumes perceived as River Shaman Vestments acknowledge a growing awareness of sustainable water management and regenerative farming practices where the river, released from pre-existing industrial constraints, slows down its speed and force allowing it to spread and expand spontaneously outwards thereby absorbing deeper into the land. The river is brought into the town of Kandos.

The fabric, thread and sequins used in the textile hangings and costumes are sourced from ‘Nannas Haberdashery’ at Kandos. A charitable fundraising group raising funds to help the community. The care taken in stitching, mending and restoring textiles echoes the domestic handiwork of generations of inhabitants. Adorned with sequins and calligraphic marks the works for ‘River Theatre’ infer a language to be deciphered acknowledging our need to understand the river in order to work with the fragile ecology of both landscape and river.

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The handmade theatrical river costumes were available for all to wear, to be enjoyed during the festival and worn around the town of Kandos.

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