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My research over two years periodically working with Riverlink,
a scientific research consortium within the irrigated horticultural
community of Mildura, concluded that three key factors for sustainability
are at risk: the earth, the water and the people.
The sculpture is built on a small flood-prone island in the Murray
River. Mounds of earth like the waves of arid sand that cover
the region are protected, sealed away by a woven stone and steel
wire ‘earth blanket’. Copi (gypsum) was used to cap
the mounds as a symbol of mourning, referring to the local Aboriginal
rites pertaining to death. Shafts of old tree limbs hold and emphasise
the mounds.
Relevant to the rites pertaining to death according to customs
of the largely excluded and dispossessed Indigenous People of
this area and with Elders approval the sculpture was designed,
materials gained, sited and Copi (gypsum) was used to cap the
mounds as a symbol of mourning.
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