Tarryn Love is a proud Gunditjmara Keerray Woorroong woman from south-west Victoria and has grown up on Wadawurrung Country. Tarryn’s practice exists in the space of creative cultural
expression.
Tarryn is a special guest on Big Brekky and will be chatting with Wendy about her new art installation at the Geelong Arts Centre.
She is a koorroyarr, teenyeen ngapang, tyeentyeeyt ngapangyarr and wanoong ngeerrang - granddaughter, youngest daughter, youngest sister and proud Aunty. Tarryn creates under the collective of Koorroyarr which means ‘grandaughter’ in her Mother Tongue, honouring her positionality as a Gunditjmara woman.
Koorroyarr represents that the sustainability of her cultural practice is in the sharing of knowledge and pays respect to her family and Ancestors, past and living. Tarryn’s work represents the distinctiveness of Gunditjmara ways of Knowing, Being and Doing that is not one way but constantly happening and changing.
Overall, she aims to explore her identity in the here and now while centering language and carrying on the work of remembering, reclamation, regeneration, and revitalisation.
First Nations stories weave throughout the new Geelong Arts Centre and officially opens on Sat 19 Aug – it will be Australia’s largest regional arts centre.
Coming together as co-designers, Geelong Arts Centre, ARM Architecture, Wadawurrung Traditional Owners Aboriginal Corporation and the wider First Nations community have woven traditional stories of the land, water and sky, and the colours and textures of Moonah trees, ochre, and granite stone throughout the campus.
One of the most exciting design elements of Geelong Arts Centre redevelopment is the presentation of specially commissioned artworks within the building's spaces by four extraordinary First Nations artists (see video here https://vimeo.com/712670387 ).
Mentored by Kiri Tawhai https://geelongartscentre.org.au/.../extraor.../kiri-tawhai/ , the First Nations commissioned artists are:
Tarryn Love https://geelongartscentre.org.au/.../extraor.../tarryn-love/ (see video here https://vimeo.com/712698356 ) – works on the walls and panels inside The Story House
Gerard Black https://geelongartscentre.org.au/.../extrao.../gerard-black/ (see video here https://vimeo.com/712661331 ) – a mural on the café wall
Mick Ryan https://geelongartscentre.org.au/.../extraordi.../mick-ryan/ (see video here https://vimeo.com/712661331 ) – soundscape within the glass link near the outside courtyard
Kait James https://geelongartscentre.org.au/.../extraord.../kait-james/ (see video here https://vimeo.com/783481010 ) – works on the external western building façade.
Tarryn’s work is called – yoowak (night).
Tarryn's work features on the walls and panels inside The Story House – one of the new spaces – it’s a multi-format 550-seat theatre expanding to 850 in ‘live gig’ mode.
Wrapping the walls and panels of The Story House theatre at Geelong Arts Centre, proud Gunditjmara Keerray Woorroong artist Tarryn Love’s work centres on yoowak (the night), encompassing three thematic layers: kakatheereeng, meenkeel, wootyook (the stars), tanteen tyamoorn (the Milky Way), and alam meen (Ancestors wrapped in their Possum Skin Cloaks).
Tarryn created the work digitally on an iPad, and her line work represents the distinctiveness of Gunditjmara ways of Knowing, Being and Doing. It shows the movement of time as non-linear and cyclical, and of the connection between people, places and Country.
In Tarryn's culture, Possum Skin Cloaks are very important. They are a survival tool, a marker of identity and holder of stories. For Tarryn they are part of her belonging, cultural connectedness and healing.
The artwork has been translated onto the walls on perforated wood panels, with varying depth of each perforation creating a sense of light and dark, and the illusion of movement Tarryn hopes that young First Nations people visiting The Story House feel a sense of belonging, and that this space has been created for them, now and long into the future Tarryn’s work spans approximately 500 custom made panels that cover approximately 1600sqm of space.
Specialised equipment was used to translate the design layouts onto plywood panels by drilling individual perforations that both form the artwork and aid theatre acoustics. The average machine time for each panel is approximately 4 hours, equating to a total of almost 2000 hours of machine time for the full work. The panel installation took in the order of 12 weeks to complete, with a specialised crew of 10 installers.
Geelong Arts Centre Grand Opening Festival it is a four-week festival that includes performances from Missy Higgins, Opera Australia, Belvoir St Theatre and so much more.
From 19 August to 23 September, the Grand Opening Festival includes: Sat 19 Aug – Jessica Mauboy (SOLD OUT) Sat 19 Aug – Dave Thornton, Dilruk Jayasinha and Lizzy Hoo (SOLD OUT) Sun 20 Aug – Community Open Day (free activities) 22-23 Aug – Backstage Tours Fri 25 Aug – ABC Radio Melbourne Friday Revue (live broadcast) Sat 26 Aug – A Windmill Theatre Company: HICCUP Sun 27 Aug – Missy Higgins 30-31 Aug – Opera Australia: The Barber of Seville with Geelong Youth Choir Fri 1 Sep – Ross Noble – Jibber Jabber Jamboree 6-9 Sep – Belvoir St Theatre: Miss Peony 牡丹⼩姐 8-23 Sep – Priscilla: The Musical 13-14 Sep – Rich Kids: A History Of Shopping Malls In Tehran 20-21 Sep – RECKŌNING Fri 22 Sep – Connor Morel: A Lovely Day to Be Online Fri 22 Sep – Pseudo Echo – The Ultimate Tour 2023 Sat 23 Sep – Two Of Us – The Songs Of Lennon & McCartney with Darren Coggan and Damien Leith.
For details – check out www.geelongartscentre.org.au