Between Us is a major solo exhibition by Gail Hocking exploring relational dynamics with landscape(s) and their ecologies forefronted with understanding, intimacy and care.
Using the mediums of sculpture, ceramics, installation and sound, Hocking renders imagery of roots, breath, limbs, arteries and ice with an ambiguity that blurs the line between human and non-human forms, emphasising our sameness and the symbiotic necessity essential to our existence.
Within the exhibition an immersive installation Standing at the edge of memory explores Hocking’s feelings of grief and loss for Kā Roimata o Hine Hukatere (Franz Josef Glacier) – a site near her childhood home in Aotearoa (New Zealand) – as its ice perpetually melts. Conceived as her love song to the Glacier, Hocking relates the weeping ice to the shedding of tears.
Whilst steeped in scientific research, Hocking draws upon memory to share her reverence and connection to this incredible natural formation and in doing so demonstrates a profound understanding of its ecological and emotional significance.
The resulting exhibition is a poetic and haunting exploration of global climate concerns through a deeply personal lens, reminding us of the inextricable link between human and non-human beings.
Between Us has been commissioned by Country Arts SA through the Breaking Ground Award and presented in partnership with SALA Festival and Praxis Artspace.
Read catalogue essay by Adele Sliuzas, ‘Between us’ here [vertical read mode).