Spirits Of The Land

Produced by Arts Centre Melbourne and in collaboration with RISING, Spirits Of The Land is a new large-scale digital projection which will illuminate Hamer Hall’s iconic facade throughout RISING and into NAIDOC Week.

As part of the Electric series, which began in 2022 with Maree Clarke’s Ancestral Memory, Spirits Of The Land is a newly commissioned artwork by artist Aunty Zeta Thomson, a respected Elder and descendant of the Yorta Yorta/Wurundjeri/Wamba Wamba/Wiradjuri people. The projection will light up Hamer Hall from 7 June until 9 July and will also feature in RISING’s Shadow Spirit exhibition at Flinders Street Station.

“These are the stories and beliefs of my people,” said Aunty Zeta Thomson. “This work is to pass onto our younger generation and I think it is overdue. It’s a way of remembering and keeping the stories from my mum, dad and family, and the culture they taught us alive,” she added.

Spirits Of The Land is a work that shares the beliefs and stories from both Aunty Zeta’s lands and broader Aboriginal culture. The storyline includes Mookies, the Ancestor spirits of Country, Hairy Bekka, a creature that teaches children to keep safe, and Min Min lights, malevolent illuminations to avoid.

“Mookie means spirit in Yorta Yorta,” explains Thomson. “In our culture, the old people would sing and clap our sticks or boomerangs together as they walked through the bush to let them (the Spirits) know that they were coming back to visit them again. It is important to strongly represent Victorian Aboriginal culture for people to know these ancient stories.”

Curator and RISING Artistic Associate Kimberley Moulton (Yorta Yorta) said: “These systems of knowledge are part of a network of information that manifest through celestial connections, creatures of the land and waters and a cultural practice that is over 2,000 generations old. This new projection work, which is an extension of her paintings and storytelling practice, is an example of the ever-adapting way First Peoples share art and culture and I’m so excited for it to light up Hamer Hall, celebrating the strong, living First Peoples culture of Victoria.”

“These systems of knowledge are part of a network of information that manifest through celestial connections, creatures of the land and waters and a cultural practice that is over 2,000 generations old. This new projection work, which is an extension of her paintings and storytelling practice, is an example of the ever-adapting way First Peoples share art and culture and I’m so excited for it to light up Hamer Hall, celebrating the strong, living First Peoples culture of Victoria.”

Victorians are invited to visit every day from sundown to midnight to celebrate Victorian Aboriginal culture, pay respect to Country and to honour its rich history. The event is FREE and open to all who wish to visit.