Giraru Galing Ganhagirri (The Wind Will Bring The Rain)
Joel Bray, James Wright, Daniel Nixon
31 Jan–24 Feb 2024
Giraru Galing Ganhagirri means “The Wind Will Bring Rain” in Wiradjuri. It speaks to the implacable force of Country, the meeting of the elements of air and water and of the assurance that, in nature, one thing follows another. Always have and always will.
In these times, we find solace in the ‘ancientness’ and endurance of Country. Whatever happens, the wind will always bring the rain.
Bray says ‘I live on Boonwurrung and Wurundjeri Country. Sometimes, when a storm blows down from Wiradjuri Country, I will go out and stand in the wind and the rain as a way of connecting with my ancestral homeland. Like the rain on my face, or ochre on my skin, my body carries an ancient memory of my Country in my body, no matter where I am.
Giraru Galing Ganhagirri is a multi-channel screen video installation of pure dance - a poetic, choreographic meditation on the elements. Choreographically Joel’s body evokes water, air and earth, and the various combinations and forms these take in Nature- rain, storms, clouds, dew, wind, breezes, creeks and rivers.
Filmed On Country in Wagga Wagga and surrounds, Joel Bray, Cinematographer James Wright and Composer Daniel Nixon spent time with Elders and in sacred locations across Wiradjuri Country, filming and recording sound for this video installation project. Bray acknowledges ‘I owe the elders there an enormous debt of gratitude for their hospitality, wisdom and generosity.’
What eventuated was a rich overlay of choreography and digital ochre; painting Country on Joel’s body as he dances on Country.
This installation is comprised of 3 screens on 16 min loop, with a haunting and immersive soundscape of the Australian landscape, water, wind, feet on earth, birds and other wild life.
Giraru Galing Ganhagirri was commissioned by the National Gallery of Australia, Kamberri/Canberra for the 4th National Indigenous Art Triennial: Ceremony, created in consultation with Uncle James Ingram and Wagga Wagga Elders, and with support from City of Melbourne, Phillip Keir and Sarah Benjamin (the Keir Foundation), City of Port Phillip, Create NSW, Blacktown Arts, Arts Centre Melbourne, and Yirramboi Festival 2020.
Giraru Galing Ganhagirri means “The Wind Will Bring Rain” in Wiradjuri. It speaks to the implacable force of Country, the meeting of the elements of air and water and of the assurance that, in nature, one thing follows another.
Giraru Galing Ganhagirri is a multi-channel screen video installation of pure dance - a poetic, choreographic meditation on the elements.
Filmed On Country in Wagga Wagga and surrounds, Joel Bray, Cinematographer James Wright and Composer Daniel Nixon spent time with Elders and in sacred locations across Wiradjuri Country, filming and recording sound for this video installation project.
Optimum viewing times Wed–Sat 12–4pm
As a fundraising campaign in support of the artist, limited edition Art Prints from Giraru Galing Ganhagirri are available for purchase direct from the artist.
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Midsumma is Australia's premier queer arts and cultural organisation, bringing together a diverse mix of LGBTQIA+ artists, performers, communities and audiences.
This program takes place on the land of the Wurundjeri people of the Kulin Nation. We recognise that sovereignty was never ceded - this land is stolen land. We pay respects to Wurundjeri Elders, past, present and emerging, to the Elders from other communities and to any other Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islanders who might encounter or participate in the program.
Joel BrayNaarm-based Joel Bray is a proud Wiradjuri dancer and performance-maker and Artistic Director of Joel Bray Dance. He performed with European companies and choreographers and with CHUNKY MOVE. Joel’s dance-theatre encounters in unorthodox spaces spring from his Wiradjuri heritage, and use humour to engage audiences in rituals about sex, history, trauma and healing. Joel makes his work in collaboration with Elders, Community and Country.
Joel’s works- Biladurang, Dharawungara, Daddy, Considerable Sexual License, Garabari and Giraru Galing Ganhagirri - have toured to major arts festivals in Australia and overseas. Joel has made works for Artshouse, CHUNKY MOVE, Sydney Dance Company, the National Gallery of Australia and the National Gallery of Victoria.
James Wright (Naarm-Melbourne) is an artist-filmmaker practising 15 years with leading cultural organisations and artists in Australia including National Gallery of Victoria, Chunky Move, State Library Victoria, Phillip Adams Balletlab, TarraWarra Museum of Art, Sally Smart, Antony Hamilton, Jo Lloyd, Joel Bray, Shelley Lasica, David Rosetzky, Bianca Hester, Marco Fusinato, Matthew Bird, Hiromi Tango and Hoda Afshar. This work has been presented internationally and nationally including Venice Biennale, Melbourne Art Fair, Melbourne Festival, Museum of Contemporary Art, Adelaide Biennial, NGV Melbourne Design Week, Australian Centre for Contemporary Art, West Space, Gertrude Glasshouse and Sutton Projects.
His significant and extensive work in contemporary dance negotiates its filmic representation in collaboration with numerous Melbourne choreographers. These experiences have fostered a unique sensibility in his practice to capture, highlight and at times craft the sensuous particularities and abstract structure of dance through his cinematography.
Daniel Nixon is a composer, sound designer and multi instrumentalist. He has performed with the MSO, Orchestra Victoria, John Farnham, Yothu Yindi, Sebine Meyer, Mikko Frank and many others. He has written and recorded multiple albums and worked extensively as a session player and programmer. He has scored and designed numerous films, games, ads and plays including work with Flashgun Films, Cascade Films, Little Ones Theatre, Red Stitch Actors Theatre, American Girl, Universal Television, Disney Pictures, Melbourne Theatre Company.
Audrey Thomas-Hayes is a curator, producer and arts worker who has worked across contemporary art and design practice in Naarm/Melbourne and London. Audrey is an Artistic Director at Blindside and has worked with arts and creative organisations including The Substation, design collective Assemble (UK), Dorich House Museum and RMIT Design Hub Gallery. They are a graduate of RMIT University and the MA Culture, Criticism and Curation course at Central Saint Martins, University of the Arts London.