Beneath the surface of artist’s Undercurrent

ONE of the artworks in the First Nations Photography exhibition at Bendigo Art Gallery is a piece depicting the site of a massacre on Dja Dja Wurrung country by Bangerang artist Peta Clancy.

Clancy acquired a 12-month residency with the Koorie Heritage Trust to do the work in 2018 and then spent some time travelling to the site to capture its essence in different moments.

The result was a series of photographs titled Undercurrent and Bendigo Art Gallery acquired one of the pieces in 2020 from an earlier exhibition.

The idea for it came to Clancy after she saw the Massacre Map of Victoria and was brought back to the fact that much of such history was rarely acknowledged.

She had to apply for a cultural heritage permit and get permission from DJAARA, and once obtained, put a call out to the Djaara community asking if anyone would be interested in working with her.

“When I first thought of doing the project, I was going to go to a number of locations but then I thought it was more respectful to explore the one area and develop a relationship,” she said.

“I was going to explore a number of different sites, but it felt much more honest to just spend time at the one area.

“I returned for a year and took photographs… so when I presented my work at the Koorie Heritage Trust, it was kind of an acknowledgment to the community that the violence happened.”

Michael Bourke and Amos Atkinson assisted Clancy in learning about the history of the massacres on this country.

“They shared country with me, we went to a number of locations,” said Clancy.

“I don’t actually say where the location is, because I’m not a Dja Dja Wurrung person, it’s not my story to tell.”

“Mick and Amos said the site of violence is underwater and that kind of really resonated with me because as they said it protected the area and also with the water it cleansed the ancestors.

“It’s not about going to this particular site or knowing where it is… it’s kind of like a metaphor, Undercurrent is a metaphor for the fact that we haven’t spoken about massacres.

“I remember driving with Mick around Dja Dja Wurrung country, and he said it’s not a matter of where massacres occurred, it’s a matter of where they didn’t.

“Violence occurred all throughout Dja Dja Wurrung country but also throughout Australia.”

With photographs that Clancy took throughout her observations of the site, she overlapped different parts to create the end pieces.

“There’s kind of this cutting or scarring, so when you look at the final image it’s created through the print that I’ve taken onto country and also the rephotographed photograph and what’s behind it,” she said.

“It’s kind of like I’m covering something over or taking something away.

“My idea is that when people look at the photographs, there’s something that’s not quite right.”