MELBOURNE NOW: THE REMAKING OF THINGS

WORKSCOMMISSIONS
Written By Gracia & Louise
 
 
 

Gracia Haby & Louise Jennison
The remaking of things
2023

Digital collage, Inkjet print, and 24 minute sound loop
NGV Commission for Melbourne Now
The Ian Potter Centre: NGV Australia
Friday 24th of March – Sunday 20th of August, 2023
Extended until Sunday 3rd of September, 2023

Digital print on Bauhaus STYline New York with self-adhesive backing
Printed by NGV
SwissQ inkjet CMYK components on Silver Metalised Polyester 300gsm satin with self-adhesive backing
Printed by Bambra
Original sound recordings by Tim Pearson
Sound production by Angus Kemp and NGV

 
 
 

For our part of Melbourne Now, we made a green pocket of restored eucalyptus forest habitat especially for the Grey-headed flying fox (Pteropus poliocephalus), collaged from 100 pieces in the collection of the NGV. A forest in which you could watch night turn to day and day turn to night as the light and sound changed.

We created a 35-metre-long by 6-metre-high collage which was illuminated so that the scene transitioned from green mornings to nocturnal blues to represent 24-minutes compressed into 24-hours. A forest, similar in feel to our artists’ books Bracketed by light (2022) and Something Reverberated (2021), and which built upon the scale and technique we explored within Ripples in the Open (2018–2019), to create our largest ever all-encompassing installation, The remaking of things.

By making our collage about restored habitat, we are looking forward, not backward. Focusing not on what we had and have lost, but on what we need to move ahead: grow habitat, protect biodiversity, reciprocate with nature. We used the NGV collection to grow something new and hopeful: habitat for the Grey-headed flying foxes, in particular, by the banks of the Birrarung.

Within the collage you could see a microbat (A New South Wales bat, c. 1800s), the smallest and only Australian bat, mega or micro, we could find in the collection (out of copyright, and not including First Nations). You could see elements from Grace Cossington Smith’s Bottlebrushes (1935) and Kuringai Avenue (1943), incorporated with permission from the estate, too, alongside a Kookaburra and a Cockatoo by F. E. Striezel from a pair of panels c. 1915.

You may have recognised several photographs by Nicholas Caire, including Scene on the Yarra, Healesville (c. 1876–1880s) and Scene on the Yarra at Yarra Doon (c. 1876–1880s), and J. W. Lindt’s Giant eucalypts, Acheron River, Victoria (1899); and wildflowers from Anne Paulson’s Sketches of Victorian bush flowers (c. 1861) and Fanny Anne Charsley (The wildflowers around Melbourne, series 1867) grew from the floor, alongside gum-flowers and ‘love’ (c. 1860) by Louisa Anne Meredith.

IN FURTHER DETAIL
Complete list of 100 works harvested from the collection of the NGV
Explore the sound recording particulars

 
 
 
●

Gracia Haby and Louise Jennison have been collaborating as Gracia and Louise for more than twenty years. As artists and wildlife carers, their practice frequently concerns the natural world, addressing themes of conservation and biodiversity through artists’ books, zines, collages, prints, drawings and, more recently, collage installations.

The remaking of things, 2023, a new work commissioned for Melbourne Now, is Gracia and Louise’s largest installation to date. On level two of The Ian Potter Centre: NGV Australia, a large-scale collage drawn from 100 works in the NGV Collection adorns the walls from ceiling to floor. The scene depicts a pocket of restored eucalyptus forest habitat, constructed using a series of images drawn from the NGV Collection. A combination of digital collage on paper and foil stock, The remaking of things builds on the methods explored in the pair’s recent work, Ripples in the open, 2018–19, with cyclic sound and lighting design signalling gradual transitions from morning to night — and back again — in the world represented on the walls. The outcome is a message of the importance of restored habitat, in particular for the Grey-headed flying fox on the banks of the Birrarung. Remaking Home, an interactive collage activity created by the artists especially for gallery visitors will be in the centre of the room.

In their roles as wildlife carers, for Bat Rescue Bayside, Warriors 4 Wildlife and Wildlife Victoria, Gracia and Louise fostered a number of grey-headed flying fox pups in late 2022 and early 2023. With the duo’s practice percolating well beyond the gallery walls, the opening of Melbourne Now signals the pups’ first flights with the Yarra Bend colony, a familiar and cherished sight for many local residents.

Gracia and Louise’s long-running collaboration began with a shared love of paper and its adaptable, tactile properties that enable all manner of outcomes, from the playful to the poetic. Their work can be found nationally in collections including the National Gallery of Victoria, Art Gallery of Ballarat, Melbourne Museum, National Gallery of Australia, National Library of Australia, State Library of New South Wales, State Library Victoria, State Library of Queensland, as well as international galleries and private collections. They have been commissioned by the Ace Hotel, The Australian Ballet, Australian Poetry, Melbourne Chamber Orchestra, State Library Victoria and more.

The remaking of things, level two
Until Sunday 3rd September, 10am–5pm

Melbourne Now, NGV

 
 
ARTISTS' BOOK: THE REMAKING OF THINGS
ARTISTS' BOOK: THE REMAKING OF THINGS
$80.00
 
 
 
 
 
What does the word ‘artist’ mean to you?

Does it look like a painter, a creator of collages, or a wildlife carer?

Gracia and Louise are interested in The Remaking of Things, including the role of the artist in 2023.

Their work for Melbourne Now aims to bring the preservation of a species — the Grey-headed flying fox — to our attention. The large-scale installation borrows from beloved artworks in the NGV Collection to create an imagined habitat for the endangered creatures.

In doing so, Gracia and Louise step outside of the traditional ‘environment’ of the artist and propose new functions for the makers of today.

Melbourne Now, NGV
 
 
 

List of 100 individual components from the NGV collection within our collage, The remaking of things.

All components have been harvested from the collection, with the exception of:
Gould’s Grey-headed flying fox drawn and lithographed by J. Gould and H.C. Richter from John Gould’s The mammals of Australia, volume 3, 1863, in the collection of State Library Victoria

E. G. Adamson
Australia 1895–1974

The Langlauf Race, Mt Buller
1930s–1940s
gelatin silver photograph
PH193-1982

Snow coral
1930s–1940s
gelatin silver photograph
PH204-1982

Julian Ashton
England 1851 – Australia 1942, arrived Australia 1878

The afterglow, Foulweather Reach, Hawkesbury River, New South Wales
1884 Lower Hawkesbury, New South Wales watercolour
watercolour
364-5

Richard Bunbury
England 1813 – Australia 1857, arrived Australia 1841

Green Native Fuchsia, Victoria
1844
watercolour over pencil
3073.14-4

From Grassy Gully, Victoria
1844
watercolour over pencil
3073.17-4

Native Fuchsia, found in the forest near Mt Mercer
1844
watercolour over pencil
3073.27-28-4

Sarsaparilla, from the river Leigh, Victoria
1844
watercolour over pencil on buff paper
3073.15-16-4

Spider Orchid, Mount Mercer
1844
watercolour over pencil on buff paper
3073.26-4

Ti-tree found on the banks of the river Leigh, near Mount Mercer
1844
watercolour over pencil on buff paper
3073.22-23-4

Fanny Anne Charsley
England 1828–1915, Australia 1857–1867

Bosseaea cinerea, Platylobium obtusangulum, Aotusvillosus, Dillwynia cinerascens
1867
plate IX from The wildflowers around Melbourne series 1867
hand-coloured lithograph
3071.10-4

Tetratheca ciliata, Hibbertia fasciculata, Grevillea latrobei, Hakea ulicina, Wahlenbergia gracilis
1867
plate X from The wildflowers around Melbourne series 1867
hand-coloured lithograph
3071.11-4

Goodenia geniculata, Leptospermum myrsinoides, Viola betonicifolia, Caesia corymbosa, Anguilaria dioica, Drosera auriculata, Bulbine bulbosa, Stylidium graminifolium, Viola hederacea
1867
plate XI from The wildflowers around Melbourne series 1867
hand-coloured lithograph
3071.12-4

Brunonia australis, Craspedia richea, Dianella revoluta, Lobelia pedunculata, Convolvulus erubescenes, Ammobium alatum, Helichrysum bracteatum, Lobelia simplicicaulis
1867
plate XII from The wildflowers around Melbourne series 1867
hand-coloured lithograph
3071.13-4

Gompholobium huegelii, Dianella longifolia, Pimelea humilis, Mesembryanthemum australe, Comesperma calemega
1867
plate XIII from The wildflowers around Melbourne series 1867
hand-coloured lithograph
3071.14-4

Nicholas Caire
Channel Islands 1837 – Australia 1918, arrived Australia 1858

Scene on the Yarra at Yarra Doon
c. 1876­–1880s Yarra Doon, Victoria
albumen silver photograph
PH2-1984

Scene on the Yarra, Healesville
c. 1876–1880s Heaslesville, Victoria
albumen silver photograph
PH4-1984

Scene near Marysville
c. 1878–1904 Marysville, Victoria
albumen silver photograph
PH10-1984

Mount Bogong, Victoria, Australia
1890s–c. 1905 Mount Bogong, Victoria
albumen silver photograph, colour dyes
PH30-1984

Werribee River, Bacchus Marsh
1870s–1880s Bacchus Marsh, Victoria
albumen silver photograph, colour dyes
PH45-1984

Batts Bend, River Watts, Fernshaw
c. 1876–1880s Fernshaw, Victoria
albumen silver photograph, colour dyes
PH49-1984

Anglesea River, Geelong district
c. 1876–1880s Anglesea, Victoria
albumen silver photograph, colour dyes
PH55-1984

Scene at Healesville
c. 1876 Healesville, Victoria
albumen silver photograph
PH106.22-1988

Scene on the River Campaspe
c. 1876
albumen silver photograph
PH106.23-1988

View of Sailors' Creek Falls
c. 1876
albumen silver photograph
PH106.30-1988

Sylvan Dell, near Loutitt Bay
c. 1876
albumen silver photograph
PH106.51-1988

Fairy scene at the Landslip, Blacks' Spur
c. 1878
collodian glass plate negative
PH111-1990

Condon's Gully, Healesville
c. 1903–1910
gelatin bromide glass plate negative
PH113-1990

William Drummond & Co. manufacturer
Melbourne est. 1885

Paperweight (kangaroo)
c. 1900
silver
D70-1979

Paperweight (emu) (multiple views)
c. 1900
silver
D69-1979

William Edwards manufacturer
England c. 1819 – Australia c. 1889, arrived Australia 1857
Trophy
c. 1870
sterling silver, emu egg, ebonised wood
D114-1981

Eugene von Guérard
Austria 1811 –  England 1901, Italy 1830–1838, Germany 1838–1852, Australia 1852–1882, Germany and England 1882–1901

Ferntree Gully, Dandenong Ranges, Victoria
1867
plate 13 from Eugène von Guérard's Australian Landscapes, published by Hamel & Ferguson, Melbourne, 1866–68
colour lithograph
651-5

Hoffman Brick Company manufacturer
Melbourne 1870–1969
Mel-rose Australian Ware range
Australian 1931 – c.1940

Possum jug
1931­–1940 Brunswick, Melbourne
earthenware
D132-1979

Wenceslaus Hollar
Prague 1607 – England 1647, England from 1636, 1652–1677, Flanders 1644–1652

Four caterpillars and a snail
1646
from the Muscarum scarabeorum... (Various types of flying insects and beetles) series c. 1646
etching 1st state
1278.408-3

William Howieson
Australia 1876–1967

No title (Landscape with sheep)
1940s
gelatin silver photograph
PH259-1971

Tom Humphrey
Scotland 1858 – Australia 1922, arrived Australia 1869
Summer walk
c. 1888 Melbourne
oil on canvas
A5-1979

Kilpatrick & Co. manufacturer and retailer
Melbourne est.1853–1925

Paperweight (kangaroo)
c. 1910 Melbourne
silver
D222-1979

Choubard engraver
France c. 1810 – c. 1830
Charles-Alexandre Lesueur after
France 1778–1846

Horseshoe bats (Rhinolophus crumeniferus. N. ), Timor (Rhinolophe cruménifère, de l'ile Timor)
1824 Paris
plate 65 in the Voyage de Découvertes aux Terres Australes (Voyage of Discovery to the Southern Lands) atlas. Arthus Bertrand, Paris, 1824, 2nd edition
hand-coloured engraving and etching in brown and blue-green ink
2010.96.66

Lambert Frères engraver
France est. c. 1900s
Charles-Alexandre Lesueur after
France 1778–1846

New Holland cassowaries, Kangaroo Island (Casoars de la Nouvelle-Hollande Emu of New Holland)
1824 Paris
plate 66 in the Voyage de Découvertes aux Terres Australes (Voyage of Discovery to the Southern Lands) atlas. Arthus Bertrand, Paris, 1824, 2nd edition
hand-coloured engraving and etching printed in brown and black ink
2010.96.67

John Lewin
England 1770 – Australia 1819, arrived Australia 1800 

Three-toe King-fisher (Azure Kingfisher)
c. 1804–1806 London
plate 1 from A Natural History of the Birds of New South Wales, published by J. H. Bohte, London, 1822
etching hand-coloured with watercolour and tinted gum Arabic
2013.724

Warty-face Honey-sucker (Regent Honeyeater)
c. 1804–1806 London
plate 3 from A Natural History of the Birds of New South Wales, published by J. H. Bohte, London, 1822
etching hand-coloured with watercolour and tinted gum Arabic
2013.726 

Variegated Warbler (Variegated Fairy-wren)
c. 1804–1806 London
plate 15 from A Natural History of the Birds of New South Wales, published by J. H. Bohte, London, 1822
etching hand-coloured with watercolour and tinted gum Arabic
2013.733

Reed Warbler (Australian Reed Warbler)
c. 1804–1806 London
plate 18 from A Natural History of the Birds of New South Wales, published by J. H. Bohte, London, 1822
etching hand-coloured with watercolour and tinted gum Arabic
2013.735

Yellow-breasted Thrush (Eastern Yellow Robin)
c. 1804–1806 London
plate 23 from A Natural History of the Birds of New South Wales, published by J. H. Bohte, London, 1822
etching hand-coloured with watercolour and tinted gum Arabic
2013.737

White-breasted honey-sucker
c. 1804–1806 London
plate 22 from A Natural History of the Birds of New South Wales, published by J. H. Bohte, London, 1822
etching hand-coloured with watercolour and tinted gum Arabic
2010.538

J. W. Lindt
Germany 1845 – Australia 1926, arrived Australia 1862

Giant eucalypts, Acheron River, Victoria
1899
gelatin silver photograph
PH76-1975

Frederick McCubbin
Australia 1855–1917

Lost
1886 Box Hill, Victoria
oil on canvas
1077-4

The pioneer
1904 Mount Macedon, Victoria
oil on canvas
253-2

Louisa Anne Meredith
England 1812 – Australia 1895, arrived Australia 1839 

Study for gum-flowers and 'love'
c. 1860
watercolour
P166-1989

NASA, Washington, D.C. manufacturer
United States est. 1958

Lunar crater Schmidt near Sea of Tranquility
(1969)
type C photograph
PH386-1971

Anne Paulson
England 1808 – Australia 1866, arrived Australia 1858

Swainsona procumbens, from Joyces Creek Oct. 1860 page 6, no 2
Bursarsia Spinosa page 7, no 3
Diuris / From Ravenswood page 60, no 14
from Sketches of Victorian bush flowers
c. 1861 Victoria
sketchbook: watercolour, iron gall ink and pencil, 75 pages with red printed ink, leather binding
2008.33

Premier Pottery, manufacturer
Melbourne est. 1929 or 1930–1956
Remued ware range
Australia est. 1933–1956

Jug
1933–1956 Preston, Melbourne
earthenware
D72-1986

Wall vase
1935–1956 Preston, Melbourne
earthenware
D79-1986

Henri van Raalte
England 1881 – Australia 1929, arrived Australia 1910

A Karri tree glade
1917–1919
aquatint and drypoint printed in brown ink
ed. 2/60
P60-1992

Banks and boles
1920
drypoint, etching and plate tone printed in brown ink
ed. 12/20
1075-3

Hillside and stream
c. 1920
aquatint and drypoint printed in orange-brown ink
ed. 16/30
4271-3

Pierre Joseph Redouté
Luxembourg 1759 – France 1840

Yellow vetch
1780
watercolour, pencil
2004.131

Tom Roberts
England 1856 – Australia 1931, arrived Australia 1869, England 1881–1885, 1903–1919

She-oak and sunlight
1889 Melbourne
oil on wood panel
2019.1159

The artists' camp
1886 Box Hill, Victoria
oil on canvas
1224-4

A. Shelden
Australia 1920s

Possum and banksia (multiple views)
1920s
earthenware
D12-1991

Sydney Parkinson draughtsman
England c. 1745–1711
Frederick Polydore Nodder final draughtsman
England c. 1773–1800
Gerard Sibelius engraver
Netherlands 1734 – England 1785, arrived England 1770

Acacia longifolia
drawn 1770; painted 1781; printed 1981
plate 90 from Banks’ Florilegium, part IV: Australia
colour engraving and etching (à la poupée)
ed. 26/100
2013.416.90

Grace Cossington Smith
Australia 1892–1984, England and Germany 1912–1914, England and Italy 1949–1951
with copyright permission from The Estate of Grace Cossington Smith

Bottlebrushes
1935 Sydney
oil on composition board
2020.585

Kuringai Avenue
1943
oil on composition board
2020.585

Unknown draughtsman
James Sowerby etcher
England 1757–1822

Billardiera scandens plate 1
Tetratheca juncea plate 2
Ceratopetalum gummiferum plate 3
Banksia spinulosa plate 4
Goodenia ramosissima (now Scaevola ramoissima) plate 5
Platylobium formosum plate 6
Embothrium speciosissimum (now Telopea speciosissima) plate 7
Embothrium silaifoliu (now Lomatia silaifolia) plate 8
Embothrium sericeum (now Grevillea sericea) plate 9
Embothrium buxifolium (now Grevillea buxifolia) plate 10
Pimelea linifolia plate 11
Pultenaea stipularis plate 12
Eucalyptus robusta plate 13
Styphelia tubiflora plate 14
Mimosa myrtifolia (now Acacia myrtifolia), plate 15
Mimosa hispidula (now Acacia hispidula), plate 16
from A Specimen of the Botany of New Holland by
James Edward Smith, published by James Sowerby, London 1793, vol. 1
1793 London, England
hand-coloured etching
2015.406

Arthur Streeton
Australia 1867–1943, England 1897–1919
The river
1896 Sydney
oil on canvas
A36-1980

'The purple noon's transparent might'
1896 Sydney
oil on canvas
33-2

Our untidy bush
1927
oil on canvas
144-4

The valley from Olinda top 'Let the Rose glow intense and warm the air' — Keats
1925 Melbourne
oil on canvas
1786-3

Sydney Harbour
1907 Sydney
oil on canvas on plywood
491-2

F. E. Striezel
Germany 1860 – Australia 1935, arrived Australia 1886

Pair of panels  (Kookaburra panel and Cockatoo panel)
c. 1915
Pine (Pinus sp.)
D17.a-b-1994

The Sydney Bird Painter
Australia, active c. 1790–c. 1800

Boobook owl
c. 1790–1800 Sydney
watercolour and pen and ink over pencil
1999.325

Unknown
Brooch
c. 1860 Sydney
gold
D396-1980

Unknown
Brooch
c. 1860 Sydney/Melbourne
gold, pearl, turquoise, emerald, ruby
D396-1980

Australia, Unknown
Fern fabric
c. 1890 Australia
silk, ink
CT72-1991

The Netherlands, Unknown
Flowerpiece
17th century the Netherlands
red and black chalk on vellum
1278.940-3

Australia, Unknown
Framed embroidery
c. 1896 Tasmania
silk, wood, paint, glass, paper, metal
D144-1976

Unknown
A New South Wales bat
c. 1800s Decade–1810s
watercolour, brush and ink, pen and brown ink, gouache and gum Arabic
2010.361

Australia, Unknown
Roundel
c. 1900s
painted concrete
D39A-1992

Australia, Unknown
Scent bottle
c. 1985 Adelaide
silver, Black Bean seed pod
D377-1980

Australia, Unknown
Trophy
c. 1900 Melbourne
emu egg, Pine (Pinus sp.)
D100-1981

Australia, Unknown
Whistle
c. 1880 Melbourne
15 ct gold
D39-1993

Chinese, Unknown
Snuff bottle
early 20th century China
white jade, pigment, glass, metal
658.a-b-D5

Chinese, Unknown
Snuff bottle (multiple views)
China
glass
156-D5

J. M. Wendt
Germany 1830 – Australia 1917, arrived Australia 1854

Inkwell
c. 1885 Mount Gambier, South Australia
silver, emu egg, ebonised wood, brass, nacre
D61.a-c-1979

Walter Withers
England 1854 – Australia 1914, arrived Australia 1883

Evening on the Yarra, Eaglemont
1887 Heidelberg, Victoria
oil on canvas
A11-1978

Tranquil winter
1895 Heidelberg, Victoria
oil on canvas
12-2

 
 

April NGV Artists-in-Residence in Community Hall

In connection to our collage, The remaking of things, there were several drawing activities, panels, and workshops as part of our NGV Artists-in-Residence in Community Hall for April.

GRACIA & LOUISE ARTISTS-IN-RESIDENCE (full details)

Our Artists-in-Residence included
HIGH UP IN THE TREES: KOALAS TO GREY-HEADED FLYING FOXES, panel discussion with the two of us, moderated by Tanya Ha, environmental and science communication specialist, with Janine Duffy, President of the Koala Clancy Foundation, and Lawrence Pope, President of Friends of Bats and Bushcare Inc.

NGV TEENS: DROP BY AND MAKE A ZINE WITH GRACIA AND LOUISE, zine workshop conducted over three afternoons

TEACHER MASTERCLASS WITH GRACIA & LOUISE, zine-making and collage techniques workshop and artists’ talk

DRAWING ACTIVITY: MEET THE FANTASTIC GREY-HEADED FLYING FOX, drawing and quiz activity

SCHOOL HOLIDAY WORKSHOPS: WARRIORS FOR WILDLIFE, wildlife workshop presented by Warriors 4 Wildlife

NO TREE! NO ME!, talk presented by wildlife ecologist Tim Pearson

DRAW NOW COMMUNITY HALL DROP BY ACTIVITY, drawing activity featuring specimens of White ironbark (Eucalyptus leucoxylon, also known as yellow gum or blue gum) and Moreton Bay Fig (Ficus macrophylla), as part of the drop-by School Activities program

GRACIA & LOUISE RESIDENCY: UNDER 5s, online activity

SCHOOL HOLIDAY FUN WITH NGV COMMUNITY AMBASSADORS | 与NGV社区大使欢度学校假期 MELBOURNE NOW, conversations

We spoke to NGV’s Elisa Scarton about our then forthcoming Community Hall Artists-in-Residence and our NGV commission, The remaking of Things, in the NGV Magazine, Issue 39, March–April, 2023, p. 40.

GRACIA HABY AND LOUISE JENNISON ARE THE INAUGURAL COMMUNITY HALL ARTISTS IN RESIDENCE, LEADING DISCUSSIONS FOCUSED ON THE CARE AND PROTECTION OF OUR LOCAL ENVIRONMENT AND PRESENTING WORKSHOPS FOR VISITORS OF ALL AGES, FROM MARCH. HERE, HABY AND JENNISON SHARE MORE ABOUT THEIR ROLE AS WILDLIFE CARERS AND THEIR MELBOURNE NOW WORK, THE REMAKING OF THINGS, 2023.

HOW DOES IT FEEL TO BE THE FIRST ARTISTS IN RESIDENCE IN MELBOURNE NOW’S COMMUNITY HALL? AND WHAT ARE YOU MOST LOOKING FORWARD TO SHARING WITH VISITORS?
We are utterly delighted to be Artists in Residence and looking forward to sharing our enthusiasm for wildlife, in particular, Grey-headed flying foxes, with NGV visitors. We are in awe of them, and learning more about them, flying foxes, has opened our eyes, hearts, altering our very way of being. Beyond an early appreciation of the nightly thread of flying foxes heading out in search of food, we’d little knowledge of how critical they are to our forests. They are our pollinators. They are the reason we have trees, diversity. They are an umbrella species which by name alone means they afford support to all those beneath the canopy of their being. We owe so much to them, those ‘night gardeners’, feasting on nectar, pollen, and fruit. So, we’re hoping this will be a chance for people to see how interconnected all beings and systems are. To learn more about wildlife. To ask yourself: what can I do to help wildlife? Will I become a volunteer rescuer/foster carer? Will I advocate for the flying fox when they are misjudged by others? Will I share my fruit tree/garden with others? Will I participate in planting and weeding days in my community? What action can I take and what action will I take? Look around you and imagine what it is like for wildlife. What green corridors can you help strengthen and extend? If a single Grey-headed flying fox is capable of flying 50 kilometres a night and dispersing 60,000 seeds, which is incredible, what action, daily, weekly, more frequently, can you do to be more reciprocal with nature?

IN ADDITION TO BEING ARTISTS, YOU’RE ALSO WILDLIFE FOSTER CARERS. DO THE TWO CALLINGS INFORM AND INSPIRE ONE ANOTHER IN YOUR DAY-TO-DAY PRACTICE?
They both feed into the other, absolutely. In a practical sense, as our home-based studio currently houses a 1.2 metre by 1.2 metre enclosure in the middle of it, and our back garden, a 1.8 metre by 1.8 metre enclosure, which is pretty much the sum of each space, wildlife and art are not only wing by wing, but one and the same. The two enclosures are set up especially for the flying fox pups, and this pup season, which typically commences mid- to late-spring, we’ve cared for eight orphaned pups. When they move from the incubator, when they’re young and cannot thermoregulate for themselves, to the indoor enclosure, and finally the outdoor enclosure, they have a safe space in which they can stretch their wings, and build their muscles, as they learn to fly, interact with each other, and all those early days things particular to every living creature. In sharing a space, physically, they inform what and how we work. We feel incredibly fortunate to share a space with them. To see them up close. To see how incredibly flexible and agile they are in contrast to a drawing or a museum specimen. Every part of them is alive with flight. To care for them. Clean their wings (when they are really young). To learn from them. They let us into their world and it is an absolute privilege. And it drives us to make sure that everything we do is considered, has a reason, is part of a conversation. For us, we felt it was no longer enough for us to make work about animals; we must also do something, now, and every day. To paraphrase George Monbiot when he commented that government’s, the world over, talking about environmental action is a substitute for action, for us: art cannot be a substitute for action.

YOUR WORK FOR MELBOURNE NOW SENDS A REALLY BEAUTIFUL MESSAGE ABOUT PROTECTING BIODIVERSITY AND GROWING NATURE. HOW DO YOU, AS ARTISTS, COMMUNICATE MESSAGES LIKE CONSERVATION IN YOUR WORK AND WHY IS IT IMPORTANT TO DO SO?
With our 35-metre-long by 5-metre-high collage, The remaking of things, especially for Melbourne Now, we wanted to create a restored habitat from pieces in the NGV collection, with the emphasis on it being restored, because none of us can afford to lose this threatened species. When we began making this work, we focused not on what we have lost (habitat, biodiversity, stable climate), but on what we can grow. Something new and hopeful by the banks of the Birrarung: habitat for the Grey-headed flying fox (Pteropus poliocephalus). Something looking forward. We hope people who might not have really given much time over to thinking about flying foxes come away with an understanding of the vital role flying foxes play in ensuring the survival of our native forests (through seed dispersal and pollinating plants).

DO YOU HAVE A FAVOURITE ARTIST/WORK IN THE NGV COLLECTION TO WHICH YOU OFTEN RETURN?
Having spent our time cutting up and into the digital files of Grace Cossington Smith’s Bottlebrushes (1935) and Kuringai Avenue (1943) (with permission from the Estate of Grace Cossington Smith), Anne Paulson’s Sketches of Victorian bush flowers (c. 1861), Fanny Anne Charsley’s lithographs from The Wildflowers around Melbourne series (1867), and Louisa Anne Meredith’s gum-flowers and ‘love’ (c.1860), our answer, of sorts, would have to be all of the above. We selected pieces which were either out of copyright, or we had permission to use; pieces that large format digital files already existed of, and pieces, like works on paper not currently on display, which could be rephotographed with a view to growing ten-times their original size on the gallery wall. Working with the NGV, we selected pieces that would help us create a promising forest thrumming with life. We also included a watercolour of a microbat (c. 1800s) by an unknown artist for those who might be inspired, having learnt about megabats, to learn about the amazing world and role of microbats…. But that’s for next time.

NGV Magazine
Read online (NGV)
Read online (Marginalia)

 
 
 
“Printmaking is represented with a Print Portfolio by 12 printmakers plus the irrepressible Gracia and Louise and their bat installation.”

Sasha Grishin, Melbourne Now: a vast, sprawling and inspiring exhibition that seems to burst out of its architectural framework, 2023
 
 

24 minute sound loop
Featuring original sound recordings by Tim Pearson
With sound production by Angus Kemp

Remote (non-urban) flying-fox camp soundscape
Location: Tallowwood Ridge, Dorrigo, NSW. Recording taken on edge of gully inside camp area.
Date: 4th of May, 2016
Time: 13:55
Equipment: 2 x Sennheiser MKH8040 in an ORTF array. SoundDevices 702 recorder.
Sampling rate: 96kHz, 24-bit
Recording duration: 10 minutes

Evening — bats waking up and getting ready to fly out — soundscape
Location: Bellingen Island, Bellingen, NSW. Recording taken from middle of occupied area of camp.
Date: 22nd of May, 2011
Time: 17:16
Equipment: 2 x Sennheiser ME64 in an ORTF array. Fostex FR2-LE recorder.
Sampling rate: 44kHz, 16-bit
Recording duration: 15 minutes

Night — Pups left in the camp at night — soundscape
Location: Ku-ring-gai Flying-fox Reserve, Gordon, NSW. Recording taken from middle of occupied area of camp.
Date: 6th of January, 2015
Time: 22:15
Equipment: 2 x Wildlife Acoustics SMX-II on a Wildlife Acoustics™ SongMeter SM2+.
Sampling rate: 44kHz, 16-bit
Recording duration: 10 minutes

Night — Insects, frogs, plus traffic and trains in the distance — soundscape
Location: Ku-ring-gai Flying-fox Reserve, Gordon, NSW. Recording taken from middle of occupied area of camp.
Date: 9th of May, 2017
Time: 22:49
Equipment: 2 x Wildlife Acoustics SMM-A2 on a Wildlife Acoustics™ SongMeter SM4.
Sampling rate: 48kHz, 16-bit
Recording duration: 10 minutes

Night — Insects, frogs, then flyin — soundscape
Location: Ku-ring-gai Flying-fox Reserve, Gordon, NSW. Recording taken from middle of occupied area of camp.
Date: 9th of May, 2017
Time: 03:49
Equipment: 2 x Wildlife Acoustics SMM-A2 on a Wildlife Acoustics™ SongMeter SM4.
Sampling rate: 48kHz, 16-bit
Recording duration: 120 minutes

Morning in an urban flying-fox camp — soundscape
Location: Lachlan Swamp, Centennial Park, Sydney, NSW. Recording taken in centre of camp, although with the majority of the camp in front of the microphone array.
Date: 24th of January, 2021
Time: 05:13
Equipment: Rode NT-SF1 Ambisonic microphone. SoundDevices MixPre-6 II recorder.
Sampling rate: 48kHz, 32-bit float. A-format.
Recording duration: 10 minutes

Morning in an urban flying-fox camp — soundscape
Location: Lachlan Swamp, Centennial Park, Sydney, NSW. Recording taken in centre of camp.
Date: 12th of January, 2021
Time: 09:30
Equipment: 2 x Sennheiser MKH8040 in an ORTF array. SoundDevices MixPre-3 II recorder.
Sampling rate: 48kHz, 32-bit float
Recording duration: 10 minutes

Mother circling and contact calling for her pup
Location: Lachlan Swamp, Centennial Park, Sydney, NSW. Recording taken from edge of camp.
Date: 12th of January, 2021
Time: 11:50
Equipment: Tracks 1&2: 2 x Sennheiser MKH8040 in an ORTF array. Track 3: Sennheiser MKH20 in a Telinga Universal Parabolic dish. SoundDevices MixPre-3 II recorder.
Sampling rate: 48kHz, 32-bit float
Recording duration: 46 seconds

Middle of the day — bats and birds in the camp — soundscape
Location: Bellingen Island, Bellingen, NSW. Recording taken from middle of occupied area of camp.
Date: 23rd of May 2011
Time: 13:28
Equipment: 2 x Sennheiser ME64 in an ORTF array. Fostex FR2-LE recorder.
Sampling rate: 44kHz, 16-bit
Recording duration: 10 minutes

 

(Behind the scenes, with our tripod to record the changing light in our The remaking of things forest, before the gallery opened, and within the outdoor ringtail enclosure. Dante and Kitri climbed over and onto the camera to reach the new, juicy shoots, not unlike the green possums in our #MelbourneNow collage.)

 
 
“Visitors will find themselves immersed in nature when they step into this creation: a collage drawn from 100 works in the NGV collection that adorns the walls from ceiling to floor. The scene, crafted by artists and wildlife carers Gracia and Louise, celebrates nature’s unsung hero: the Grey-headed flying fox that resides on the banks of the Birrarung. “They are pollinators,” the duo explain. “If we lose them, our forests collapse.””

Samantha Landy, The must-see artworks at the free Melbourne Now exhibition, 2023
 
 

“They look straight through your soul”: The art of raising bats

Melissa Cunningham
26th of March, 2023
The Sunday Age

This is not your typical wildlife rescue centre. For more than [three years], Melbourne artists Gracia Haby and Louise Jennison have been caring for injured Grey-headed flying foxes in the backyard of their Victorian terrace in Fitzroy.

They have fed them [BIOLAC Flying fox Milk Powder] from tiny bottles, cuddled them in handmade blankets that replicate the wings of their mothers and nurtured them until they are ready to gently be released back into the wild. “It is quite extraordinary because all of a sudden you’re at home with a threatened species that is critical to biodiversity, and you’re the one responsible for this little life,” Jennison said.

Haby and Jennison have dealt with a plenty of challenges over the years, caring for ring-tailed possums and rescue cats cases. But it’s the bats ⁠— which they say are among the most misunderstood mammals in the world ⁠— that have surprised them most. “They’re so ancient, loving and intelligent,” Jennison said. “They’ve been around for millions of years. They look up at you with those brown eyes and they just figure you out. They look straight through your soul.”

She said there were many misconceptions about bats, including that they were scary, disease ridden or blood suckers. Their reputation has not been helped by unproven theories that the coronavirus had originated from bats. In fact, flying foxes are among the cleanest and most well-groomed wildlife they’ve ever cared for. They are also crucial to keeping our native forests healthy, dispersing seeds and pollinating flowering plants and trees every night. “They’re an umbrella species,” Jennison said. “Without them there are no trees. There’s no eucalyptus and no forests.”

When The Sunday Age met the artists, who have been working together for more than 20 years, they were caring for their seventh rescued bat: a tiny, playful pup called Esme. She was found in a suburban driveway, just eight days old, after being separated from her mum. Esme was born outside the usual bat breeding season, a concerning — and increasing — trend. “It is another warning sign of our climate emergency,” Jennison said.

Rising numbers of bats are also being injured across Melbourne as human development encroaches into their colonies. An increase in barbed wire and illegal fruit netting has also seen more flying foxes getting tangled, injured, trapped and even killed.

It was during their daily walks at Yarra Bend in Fairfield throughout the city’s COVID-19 lockdowns that the artists were struck by majestic nature of the grey-headed flying foxes, who soar through the night sky in their thousands, searching for tree blossoms and fruit. They loved how fiercely protective the mothers were of their babies and the “nursery trees” full of young bats being tended to by their elders at the riverside colony.

The bats, who have been listed as vulnerable to extinction under national environment law, have become the latest muse for the artists. As part of the National Gallery of Victoria’s Melbourne Now exhibition, Haby and Jennison have created an extraordinary 35-metre-long collage depicting a reimagined habitat for the bats. Their rejuvenated forest is a collage that adorns the walls from ceiling to floor and draws on more than 100 existing works at the gallery, showing an idyllic habitat, free from human development, nestled in the banks of the Birrarung, the original Wurundjeri name for the Yarra.

There are lush, towering trees with hanging bats and native Australian plants including eucalyptus and blooming bottlebrush. When the forest is illuminated, it shifts from green mornings to nocturnal blues against a 24-minute sound loop.

The world’s top scientists delivered their “final warning” this week in a United Nations report on the climate crisis, as rising greenhouse gas emissions push the world to the brink of irrevocable damage that only swift and drastic action can avert.

The artists hope their exhibition will serve as another reminder of the urgency to act now to protect the environment. “There is a massive climate emergency out there, and we all need to step up individually,” Jennison said. “I hope the work inspires people to reciprocate with nature in whatever way they can. It can be a glorious thing because you reconnect with what’s important and why we’re here.”

Haby said she hoped the exhibition would help people understand bats and the crucial role they play in the environment. “We hope we can make as many people as possible fall in love with them, understand what they do, and change their perception,” she said. “Instead of being scared of them, perhaps they could start seeing it as a privilege to live close to a colony.”

Their exhibition, titled The remaking of things, will be on display at the Ian Potter Centre at the National Gallery of Victoria until August 20.

Read online (The Age)

 

(Photograph by Tim Carrafa, courtesy of NGV)

 
 
Gracia & Louise

http://gracialouise.com
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