In the Kandos Scout Hall for Cementa15

The Kandos Scout Hall

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The WRVAP Instruments of Democracy performance focuses on the metal lock-on equipment used as 'instruments of democracy' by many insightful and courageous people from all walks of life across NSW. Performed twice-daily during Cementa15, it is a 5 minute performance that bears witness to the non-violent direct action against open cut and coal seam gas mining that is spreading across NSW. 

 see more on Cementa15 site

Instruments of Democracy also included individual works by members of the WRVAP:

L-R: Suzanne Bartos; David Watson; Noelene Lucas & Juliet Fowler Smith
with cardboard lock-ons in the centre

L: Suzanne Bartos, centre + top: David Watson; R: Noelene Lucas

David Watson Checkout + Ransom Note (with Denise Corrigan) 
(powerpoint on screen), Australian Navigators 
(photographs) with performance images in front

Noelene Lucas Death by Coal video, with blackboard drawing behind
and performance objects in front

Juliet Fowler Smith Barking Owls and Weeping Woodlands
 with performance object in front

performance metal lock-ons  

top: David Watson Koala Diplomacy (2015) prayer flags;
 L: Juliet Fowler Smith; R: Toni Warburton

front: cardboard performance objects; centre floor: Margaret Roberts;
 top R:Toni Warburton AgitPots H2O (2015) clay and ceramic 

Margaret Roberts Life4Coal piled tuille cut-outs of
threatened species.  photo Jessica Maurer

Sue Callanan Breath by Degrees (2015) coal, felt
photo Jessica Maurer

Suzanne Bartos Another Meeting Pool (after Merlyn Skipper) puppets

photos by David Watson except where otherwise stated

 See also: Cementa15,  c/- Maria Miranda, c/- Gina Fairley, c/- The Mudgee Guardian,

and thankyou Fleur for your wonderful images and commentary on Sixtoeight.net

Research visit to The Drip on the Goulburn River, 24-6 May 2013

On Friday 24 May we travelled to Gleniston, a property on the Goulburn River north of Mudgee in NSW, to see first hand something of what is happening to land being mined, and being explored for mining. Those of us who arrived at night saw the dramatic lit-up Moolarben open-cut mine at Ulan, about 10kms south of Gleniston.  We heard about and discussed the situation with Julia Imrie, joint owner of Gleniston and PhD candidate in water management in Environmental Studies at ANU.

On Saturday, Julia walked us through her property to show us the location of Moolarben Coal's planned drill holes, and to see where Moolarben's long wall mining is planned just short of the Goulburn River where the famous Drip is located, to visit the Drip, and walk out down the river. In the afternoon we decorated and ate delicious pizzas cooked in the pizza oven in the back garden of Julia and Colin's place, and visited Colin's woodworking studio, and heard about the process of building the 3 delightful stone cottages, two of which we stayed in during the 2 nights. 

We had a wonderful time, staying in super-comfortable accommodation, with fantastic company in each other and our hosts Julia and Colin and the animals and birds, and located in the most relaxing and delightful bush and landscape that mining companies plan to destroy whole areas of because they think the land is just there to convert into dollars for them and their shareholders, and because they think there is no future anyway so they had better rip out what they can get while they can. Even thuogh there are campaigns to save the Goulburn river we hope the market collapses because that seems to be the only thing that means anything to them.

We hope to return soon with the rest of the WRVAP members, Noelene Lucas, Virginia Hilyard and Juliet Fowler Smith who couldn't make it this time.

L-R: Julia Imrie, Margaret Roberts, Suzanne Bartos, Ann Finegan, 

doggie 1, Christine McMillan, Chris Ward, Toni Warburton, Denise Corrigan

L-R above at the Drip: Suzanne Bartos, Toni Warburton 

Chris Ward, David Watson (front), Margaret Roberts, 

Christine McMillan (back), Julia Imrie, Ann Finegan.

above: at and near The Drip on the Goulburn River

Photos by David Watson

KANDOS PROJECTS 26 JULY

Suzanne  Bartos They kill trees too 

Text on bottom of the paper, written in mirror reversal:

One window – From Dreams to Reality; handbook of creative direct action.

Other window – The path from dreams to reality is made by walking it.

Neil Berecry Brown Emporium of Dreams

Riparian Rites - open till 16 October

Riparian Rites is the latest exhibition of the Williams River Valley Artists' Project. It includes the work of artists Suzanne Bartos, Neil Berecry Brown, Ruby Davies, Noelene Lucas, Margaret Roberts, Toni Warburton, David Watson and Juliet Fowler Smith, made in response to the proposal to construct the Tillegra Dam, to the disruption that proposal has brought to the valley and to hope for a better future now that the proposal has finally been withdrawn.

above: Toni Warburton

above: Ruby Davies

above: Neil Berecry Brown, Repairing To Rights
see 2013 update as: Re-visioning the Valley

above: Neil Berecry Brown

above: Noelene Lucas

above: floor: Margaret Roberts; right wall: David Watson

above: Juliet Fowler Smith

above: Suzanne Bartos

above L-R: Claire, Neil, Toni, Suzanne, David, Ruby, Juliet, Margaret