2024 2022 2020 2018 2016

61 artists

Sammy Hawker

About the work

This work is inspired by the limestone core samples taken during a recent geotechnical survey at Molonglo’s Dairy Road Precinct. These samples taken between 38 – 60m below the ground are filled with evocative fossils revealing the site’s early beginnings as a coral reef. It’s a beautiful concept to imagine the resonance of an ocean that once existed beneath our feet. Responding to this concept, the four bridge columns under Parkes Way have been transformed into ‘core samples’ of similar resonances that exist within the concrete city around us. The ghost maps of ancient creeks commonly mistaken for storm-water drains, the underground mycelium network that supports life above the ground and the marks made by the moth-larvae hiding within the Scribbly Gum eucalypts of O’Connor Ridge.

Images

Ocean Resonance by Sammy Hawker Ocean Resonance by Sammy Hawker Ocean Resonance by Sammy Hawker Ocean Resonance by Sammy Hawker

About the artist

Sammy Hawker is an Australian based visual artist working predominantly on Ngunawal country [Canberra, ACT]. In her practice Sammy works with traditional photographic techniques but is intrigued by the materiality of the film and the possibilities this presents. She explores methodologies of co-creation, looking for the potential to interact with the more-than human in the creation of the visual image. The unpredictable input of more-than human agents in the processing of film disrupts her authorial control and breaks open the permanency of the photograph. When working with a site Sammy will often work closely with Traditional Custodians, scientists, ecologists and other relevant practitioners. These collaborative engagements assist her in interpreting quantitative and qualitative data as well as developing ecological literacy and a cultural understanding of the site.
Sammy Hawker
  • Ocean Resonance
  • 2022
  • Installation

Location