Big Walk to Golden Mountain is one of several national events marking the 160th year of Chinese migration to the goldfields. This month-long project pays tribute to the 500km walking trek from Robe in South Australia to the central Victorian goldfields undertaken by gold seekers from the Guangdong region in China. Devised by Castlemaine based Punctum Inc., Big Walk to Golden Mountain explores the contemporary influence of this historic migration landscape in our region using a breadth of art forms. It also represents the regional contribution to the Art Centre’s major Asia TOPA program, connecting it to the goldfields of Central Victoria.
There are 3 Parts to this journey – for all the information and to book for events (if not sold out) go to:
http://www.punctum.com.au/works/big-walk-golden-mountain
I have been working with over 30 kgs of Cinnamon Bark to create some sculptural aspects of this project:
Interior View (Part 3)
Saturday 18th – Friday 24th March
In China, the fig tree symbolizes peace and abundance. A zen courtyard of quartz boulders is presided over by an ancient fig tree. The boulders evoke the hills defining Jaara country and the Goldfields of Mount Alexander Shire where quartz holds gold in its veins. Walking this zen garden invites a contemplation of how migration landscapes speak to those crossing them. It represents the migration landscape shaped by thousands of Guangdong migrants from Robe to the local goldfields who most likely followed trading tracks first created by the people of the Ja Ja Wurrang over millennia. Through the courtyard is an outbuilding where seeds, flora and sounds harbour visions of the Golden Mountain Walk migration landscape. A sensory adventure into the strange and familiar awaits. The outbuilding swells with the scent of woods used for preserving and transporting goods, pomelos abundant with nutrition and symbolizing ongoing life, cinnamon bark, and mulberry fruit… and softly flickers and resonates with shadows shaped by the prodigious crossing.
Saturday 25th March 1pm, 2pm, 3pm, 4pm, 5pm
Interior View culminates in a series of tea ceremonies conducted by Chinese tea mistress Celina Lei, each celebrating one of five elements, followed by a 6pm aperitif combining Australian botanicals with Chinese herbs and spices.
Saturday 25th March 6pm
With an aperitif,join in the conversation with Charles Zhang, who walked from Robe to Central Victoria in 2013 and Eugenia Lim a Punctum associated contemporary performer both of whom in their singular way, walk in the footsteps of their forbears.
Artists: Jude Anderson, Tanja Beer, Tara Gilbee, Celina Lei, Jacques Soddell, Jennifer Tran and guest Charles Zhang
