Sensing the Wrack (2022)

Bodø | Melbourne | Santa Cruz

A collaboration with Fiona Hillary, Ellen Marie Sæthre-McGuirk, and Jennifer Parker

The distinct smell of salt, decay, and the ocean’s essence fills our nostrils, evoking memories of the ancient seas that birthed life. The touch of rough, weathered textures grounds us in the physicality of the wrack, reminding us of the transformative forces of time. Sensing the wrack, in its essence, encapsulates the theme of reckoning with the Earth and establishes a profound material connection to deep time and the origins of life itself. “Wrack” refers to the decaying organic matter, such as seaweed and other debris, washed up along the shoreline. It symbolizes the remnants of existence that span ages and as a tangible link to our planet’s past.

Exploring the Wrack with Fiona Hillary and  Ellen Marie Sæthre-McGuirk

Untangling the wrack carried back

Tracing the Wrack with Fiona

Tracing-the-Wrack-found-in-Bodo-Jennifer-Parker-and-Fiona-Hillary-1aa

In this sensory exploration, we uncover a deep time perspective, recognizing that the fragments of wrack we encounter today are part of an intricate continuum that stretches back millions of years. We become aware of the eons of evolution and transformation that have shaped our world and the complex web of life that has emerged from it.