Track changes: Acknowledgement of Country
[Image: Layered mixed media amalgam exploring Track Changes and the iterative ever-evolving nature of my Acknowledgement of Country] [Audio: Rees
Continue readingMemoryscoping the Bunurong Coast: A project-based PhD speculating on the intimate and complex histories of a personally significant place
A collection of pieces concerned with the personal reconciliation journey I am undertaking. Many of these pieces also grapple with the complication and discomfort of inhabiting and telling stories on unceded Aboriginal land.
[Image: Layered mixed media amalgam exploring Track Changes and the iterative ever-evolving nature of my Acknowledgement of Country] [Audio: Rees
Continue readingLandscapes of loss Polaroid and prose speculation.
Continue readingAttempting to remain attuned to those with cultural perspectives tracing back tens of thousands of years, to those who have
Continue readingThe piece builds on an eariler iteration to offer a stocktake of features, associations and characteristics observed from the heath of Wreck Beach Farm. It attempts to observe the same location while also adopting a more attuned approach the features.
Continue readingI have vivid memories of the Bunurong/Boonwurrung midden sites at Wreck Beach from when I was a kid in (the mid-1980s). At that time, two different walking paths ran from the carpark through the scrub down to the beach.
Continue readingA speculative image/prose speculation of navigating cultural disjunctures on the Bunurong Coast.
Continue readingThere are numerous shadow places on the Bunurong Coast. One need look no further than the damage wrought by more
Continue readingSamphire is bush tucker, a native succulent also known as sea asparagus, sea beans or swamp grass. It grows on the waterway verges across southern Australia and can be found at any number of places around these parts.
Continue readingEvidence of the past – whether found in the landscape itself, in archival records, in people’s memories, or somewhere else – waits indifferently for elaboration. The writing and reflections of others prompts us to question, cross-examine and elaborate on the remnants of the past.
Continue readingPerched atop the dunes, I watched the light of a waxing crescent moon dance on dark waters.
Continue readingThis work was developed on the unceded lands and waterways of the Boon wurrung and Woi Wurrung language groups of the Kulin Nations. Much of the fieldwork, including visitation, writing and documentation, was undertaken on the lands of the Bunurong/Boonwurrung people.
The Bunurong/Boonwurrung people are the first storytellers of these lands. Their sovereignty was never ceded. This is, and always will be Aboriginal Land.
I respectfully acknowledge the Ancestors and Elders, past, present and emerging.
In terms of my position as a visitor on those lands, I state my lineage and purpose. I am Rees Quilford. I am a fourth-generation settler of Welsh-Irish descent. I am a writer, communications professional and a PhD candidate with RMIT University.
I was born and currently live on Bunurong/Boonwurrung land. I try to tread lightly, understand my place and listen to what it’s telling me.