"Whispers (poles)" 2023

Megan Cope

Quandamooka people. Born 1982, Meanjin (Brisbane). Lives and works in Meanjin (Brisbane) and Minjerribah
(North Stradbroke Island), Queensland.

 

"Whispers (poles)" 2023

repurposed oyster shell waste, cypress pine, charcoal

 

Courtesy of the artist and Milani Gallery, Meanjin (Brisbane).

 

 

Megan Cope’s Whispers (poles) emerges from her connection to Quandamooka Country, which encompasses lands, sands, and seas in present-day Moreton Bay. Cope’s recent practice is informed by her cultural relationships and ancestral practices to Kinyingarra (oyster in Jandai and Gowar languages), and the histories and devastations to midden sites and oyster reefs on Quandamooka Country. Oyster reefs are vital for saltwater ecosystems: they act as natural breakwaters, filter and improve water quality, and provide habitat for fish and other marine life. In doing so, they contribute to healthy and resilient coastal environments.

 

Cope’s work demonstrates the role of art in physically healing saltwater Country and coastal environments that have been colonised and now transformed through climate change. This series of hand-built Kinyingarra poles replicates the formations of Cope’s living artwork Kinyingarra Guwinyanba (2022), created on Quandamooka Country in the intertidal zone. Combining artistic processes with research and cultural knowledge systems, this “Off Country” iteration has each pole standing tall with a garland of Kinyingarra shells strung spirally to the wood. Her “On Country” iterations are designed to cultivate growth and create habitat in the water where they are planted. In situ, they become living land and sea art sculptures, fostering regenerative practice, restoring place, and innovating ancestral methods of caring for Country.

 

Whispers (poles) is a selection from a large-scale public work of over 200 poles developed for the Sydney Opera House’s 50th anniversary in 2023. Displayed at Yallamundi place, the installation was created through collaboration and knowledge exchange in Gadigal Country. In this work, community and Country are interwoven, emphasising shared and ongoing responsibilities to care for saltwater ecosystems that have nourished both generations and connected life worlds.