Anna Glynn Creative Development

Tell us about the evolution of your concept through this creative development process.

My area of interest concerns the future of the regions and how an expansion of human activity creates both opportunities and potential problems. The natural surrounding environment draws many of us to live on the South Coast, but as we move in there is displacement of flora and fauna. I am very aware of this in the location that I live, which is at the intersection of the human world and the wild rainforest animal world.

My concept is to create a moving image work and a series of short excerpts that highlight what was on this land before European settlement. Towards this I have been recording in video, photography and audio, creating a folio of materials to use as the project develops.

A concept I am using reimagines local built structures as vessels and containers of the past. These incorporate layered elements including public buildings as silhouettes that become portals and gateways to video of the flora and fauna that was previously on that site.

My initial short videos work with images of local public buildings such as churches, halls etc. I then insert footage of local wildlife I have recorded into the silhouettes of these buildings. These are gentle reminders of what was here before us.

What experts/community members did you connect with during your creative development?

During this development phase of the project, I have spent time in conversation with members of the general community as well as connecting with those in more specialised areas including land conservation and the local National Parks.

An important source of knowledge and inspiration is Bill Pigott, a resident of Berry on the South Coast. He is a former chair of Berry Landcare and Shoalhaven Landcare and vice chair of South East Landcare, serving as coordinator of a local Bushcare site and as a member of the local Catchment Management Authority. I spent time at Bill’s home where he shared photos and historical information and imagery from the local area.

We walked and talked and he showed me the changes in the land over his time living there. I then made a series of timelapse and trap camera videos. I found his approach to the local environment to be inspirational. The land was mainly used previously for grazing. Over the past twenty years Bill has slowly stopped mowing it, section by section, and allowed the natural regrowth to flourish.

I have called this ‘the Great Unmowing’. I think that this concept of allowing a small area to rewild is an accessible idea. Through local Berry Facebook community pages, I have connected with many local residents who invited me to film and record at their places. Most of these people are out of town on acreage and have a connection and awareness of their local environment.

“For my practice I have made new connections locally and learnt so much more about the place where I live. There has been some big picture thinking. “

– Anna Glynn

Describe where your work has reached in the development process and how you can see it progressing.

I have the basis of a moving image video artwork which I have titled, ‘DWELLING’. An installation incorporating moving image and sound which explores the intersection of our human world and our local landscape, both contemporary and prior to European settlement. ‘DWELLING’ speaks of a consideration of what home is for us as a community, for our environment and the creatures we share this space with. My focus is to create something that is accessible and through this address nature, ecology, history and the environment.

Reimagining local built structures around Berry, such as churches, halls and pavilions, I insert layers of moving images of local wild life into silhouettes of buildings, that then become portals to the past and the flora and fauna previously on these sites. ‘DWELLING’ echoes what was and what may become our regional future by providing a subtle but thoughtful avenue for reflection. The title ‘DWELLING’ refers to a place of habitation as well as the process of dwelling upon something – to consider or think about, to linger over, emphasize, or ponder.

Students at the Berry Public School will also participate through adding their recorded voices as well as elements of Auslan signage describing local native animals to the work. We will be thinking about the idea of home as both the human home and the home for all the native creatures and plants.

In July 2022 the University of Wollongong hosted a special webinar through their Ngarruwan Ngadju Research Centre – ‘Clandestine dismemberment: The reality behind the invasion of Shoalhaven and South Coast NSW.’  This seminar unravelled the invasion of Shoalhaven and South Coast NSW two centuries ago and its impact on Indigenous communities. The speaker Dr Marlene Longbottom from the University of Wollongong (UOW), a Yuin woman from the Jerrinja Aboriginal Community and Associate Professor with the Ngarruwan Ngadju First Peoples Health and Wellbeing Research Centre at the University, has helped to tell another story of Berry. These are some of the big stories that I hope will be considered by our community as we reflect on the South Coast.

I have also been researching local landscape and plant communities prior to colonization. The new ‘Trees Near Me NSW’ application has also been helpful in providing simple visual schemes of this. This is a Department of Planning and Environment application, which shows what plants are growing now, and what used to grow, throughout the state. It is a source of information but the data is also aesthetically visually pleasing so this may be included in the video work.

If you were to tell someone about the impact of Regional Futures and this creative development opportunity on your practice, what would you say to them?

In the online conversation series, it has been great to meet other regional artists and hear what they are working with.

The concepts that all of the commissioned artists have been working with are well thought out and inspiring. For my practice I have made new connections locally and learnt so much more about the place where I live.

This series and my involvement in it has led to more deep thinking about my region and the future of the South Coast. Everything changes and evolves with the human presence on the landscape. Questions to be considered are: as this presence continues are we able to make it a positive presence – integrating the human presence into a healthy flourishing landscape, reimaging our presence within the landscape and the big question – is growth really necessary? There has been some big picture thinking!