Nineteenth International Conference on the Arts in Society

Abstract

The complex history of the coastal development, exploitation, and transformation of Darwin Harbour in the Northern Territory of Australia dates well before the British Empire’s transfer of governance to the South Australian government in 1863. Despite four unsuccessful attempts to settle in the coastal waters of the Northern Territory, a fifth and final attempt on Larrakia land [gwalwa] and sea [gunumitjanda] led to the establishment of the Port of Darwin and eventual Federation in 1911. Today, the region is a convergence of history and nature, where the worldly politics of defence, colonisation, mining, and development compete with environmental conservation and Indigenous recognition. At the Port of Darwin, during nightfall and with the help of head torches, the migratory shorebirds are counted and taken care of. The flashlike image of coastal wracklines materialises within the greater narrative of conservation ecology; their precarious existence sits within the fulguration of rescue actions. The installation artwork called “Dematerialisation Treaty: Why do birds suddenly appear?” is inspired by Walter Benjamin’s dialectical image and W.G. Sebald’s narrative technique in the book “The Rings of Saturn”. The artwork visually explores the link between the process of dematerialisation as defined by the United Nations Environment Program (UNEP) and the struggle of life forms to assert the value of their existence. Using Benjamin’s idea of “profane illumination” and Sebald’s allegorical physiognomy, the artwork serves as a treaty on the seen and unseen connection between the neoliberal process of dematerialisation and the denaturalised life forms.