“Yimbali means heal by listening, and it is about the Umbi Umbi tree… it is a medicinal tree”
Aunty Lynette Nixon, 2020
Open Hours
Opening Wednesday, 14 October 2020, 6-8 pm
Yimbali, Listening is a form of healing
Umbi Umbi or Gumby Gumby tree has been used for healing for thousands of years by the Gungguri people. In this project Gunggari Elders share the Umbi Umbi story and its power to heal by listening.
This project grew from an ongoing conversation with the Elders as they share stories and journeys of the precious medicinal plants and their healing properties, while walking with the artists on Country and online. The motivation for this project came from wanting to invite audiences into a more deeply felt sense of nature, to take the time to appreciate our place in nature as they learn about Umbi Umbi.
The Umbi Umbi story is embedded in the soundscape of this collaborative audio-visual installation. The time-lapse video and the soundscape of recorded frequencies of the Umbi Umbi’s transformation over a period of several weeks is fused with compositions and poetry derived from the visuals and the Umbi Umbi story. This work attempts to take the listener into deep listening contemplation, encouraging healing through listening.
The artists would like to acknowledge the ancient culture and customs of the Gunggari People, proud Traditional Owners of an area spanning 37,100 square kilometres in Queensland’s Maranoa Region.
The artists would also like to express our appreciation and deep gratitude, for their time and the contribution of the storylines by Gunggari Elder Aunty Lynette Nixon, and her daughter Saraeva Mitchell, forming the foundation for this project.
About the Project
This project is an interdisciplinary collaboration by: Leah Barclay : Ecoacoustics ; Tanja Brüggemann : Composition; Renata Buziak : Photo-media; and Vicki Kelleher : Poetry.
We created this work for the Voices of Nature National Exhibition curated by Associate Professor Marian Drew.
Voices of Nature exhibition is hosted by AELA Earth Arts Collective and Australian Forum for Acoustic Ecology.
The exhibition is part of the biennial Rights of Nature week, hosted by the Australian Earth Laws Alliance (AELA)
“‘Voices of Nature 2020’ aims to encourage the exploration of the concepts of voice, standing, representation, and agency of the natural world within human governance systems”.
Images on this page:
- Renata Buziak Umb Umbi Gumby Bumby biochrome time-lapse Stills