First Fridays: Unceded Lands

This First Friday enjoy an online program celebrating First Nations people. Witness the haunting performance of Megan Cope’s Untitled (Death song) (2020) sound installation, experience a soul moving performance by Nathan May and learn more about Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander art with Senior Kaurna Man, Uncle Mickey Kumatpi Marrutya O'Brien and Curator of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Art Nici Cumpston OAM.

Performance: Untitled (Death Song)

Untitled (Death Song) is composed of five string instruments that, when played, echo the haunting night cries of the bush stone curlew. The score for Untitled (Death Song) takes its first note from the distinctive call of this nocturnal bird which is often compared to a crying baby or a wailing woman. Megan Cope responds to the destruction of Country at the hands of colonialism. In an act of sonic decolonisation through collective deep listening, the work imagines and amplifies the imploring cry of what Country might sound like if it could sing.

Performance: Megan Cope, Quandamooka people, South East Queensland, born 1982, Brisbane, Untitled (Death Song), 2020, Five instruments constructed from repurposed soil augers, oil drums, piano and violin strings, bowstrings, shells, scoria; rocks sourced from South Australia Drill Core Reference Library, Adelaide; performed by four South Australian musicians on Kaurna country.