River Aerial and Terrestrial
Paintings and Drawings of Derbarl Yerrigan Swan River
1 - 25 April 2022
Linton and Kay Gallery Subiaco
Paintings and Drawings of Derbarl Yerrigan Swan River
1 - 25 April 2022
Linton and Kay Gallery Subiaco
Alan Muller’s expansive exhibition River Aerial and Terrestrial is a personal response to twelve years of comprehensive research and expresses his imagined 'spirit of place’ of the Swan River.
In 1827 when Stirling embarked on an expedition to survey the river as a suitable location for a colony, he saw a managed park-like landscape that seemed vaguely familiar. Areas of trees alternated with stripes of open grassland reminded Stirling and party of English estates. An English colonial vision was projected onto the land and two years later in 1829 the Swan Colony was founded.
Derbarl Yerrigan Swan River is an ancient river coursing through an ancient landscape. Over many thousands of years Whadjuk Nyoongar people lived through a changing environment of ice ages, warming climates, rising sea levels and protracted droughts. With great knowledge and skill, the Whadjuk cared for country and shaped the landscape so that it was not only stunningly beautiful but brimmed with an abundance of wildlife for food and facilitated easy seasonal movement and migration over country.
'As a spiritual place and physical resource, the riverscape is ancient, powerful and underestimated. Perth is ready to better understand its past and present environment, its people, its diverse ecologies and challenges and what it means to live here, by the River'.
Gina Pickering 2019
In 1827 when Stirling embarked on an expedition to survey the river as a suitable location for a colony, he saw a managed park-like landscape that seemed vaguely familiar. Areas of trees alternated with stripes of open grassland reminded Stirling and party of English estates. An English colonial vision was projected onto the land and two years later in 1829 the Swan Colony was founded.
Derbarl Yerrigan Swan River is an ancient river coursing through an ancient landscape. Over many thousands of years Whadjuk Nyoongar people lived through a changing environment of ice ages, warming climates, rising sea levels and protracted droughts. With great knowledge and skill, the Whadjuk cared for country and shaped the landscape so that it was not only stunningly beautiful but brimmed with an abundance of wildlife for food and facilitated easy seasonal movement and migration over country.
'As a spiritual place and physical resource, the riverscape is ancient, powerful and underestimated. Perth is ready to better understand its past and present environment, its people, its diverse ecologies and challenges and what it means to live here, by the River'.
Gina Pickering 2019