Much of the work for these pieces was carried out on the unceded lands of the Arrernte people and those of the Wurundjeri and Boon Wurrung people of the Kulin Nation. We would like to extend our respect and gratitude to elders past and present of these peoples, as well as to First Nations people everywhere.
The content of this moving image work concerns the lives, culture, history and lands of Toraja in South Sulawesi. The artists would like to express their deepest respect and gratitude to Torajan communities around the world.
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Duration: 91 mins
Screening sessions: Saturday 11th @ 5pm & 8pm; Sunday 12th @ 2.30pm, 5pm & 8pm
Ticket prices: $15 full price, $10 concession
Purchase tickets here.
Dogmilk is very excited to announce 5 screenings of 4-channel immersive film ๐๐ฅ๐ฅ ๐๐ข๐ซ๐๐ฅ๐๐ฌ ๐ญ๐ก๐ ๐ฆ๐จ๐จ๐ง & ๐๐ข๐ซ๐ญ ๐ฌ๐ก๐ข๐ง๐๐ฌ ๐ข๐ง ๐ญ๐ก๐ ๐ฌ๐ฎ๐ง on Saturday 11th and Sunday 12th of December, in the North Magdalen Laundry of the Abbotsford Convent.
๐๐ฅ๐ฅ ๐๐ข๐ซ๐๐ฅ๐๐ฌ ๐ญ๐ก๐ ๐ฆ๐จ๐จ๐ง & ๐๐ข๐ซ๐ญ ๐ฌ๐ก๐ข๐ง๐๐ฌ ๐ข๐ง ๐ญ๐ก๐ ๐ฌ๐ฎ๐ง is an expanded audio-visual work produced by Dogmilkโs new cross-cultural exchange project, Sipakatuo (Glorify One Another), connecting screen and sound practitioners between ย Indonesia and Australia.
DSTV (Delta Sangallaโ TV) have been documenting the social and ceremonial life of the highland region of Toraja in South Sulawesi, Indonesia, since 2006. Toraja is known for its distinctive funeral ceremonies that galvanize entire communities, but DSTVs footage captures events both private and public that reveal a life in Toraja rarely shown. In 2011 DSTV launched a cable television network in their district, Sangallaโ, then set up a YouTube account in 2017, now with over 300,000 followers. Broadcast out of the DSTV headquarters, their images can be seen playing in homes, warungs and palm wine bars across the district and around the world.
4 video channels on 4 screens, each a different perspective and temporality of the same event, of adjacent action, each contributing to the construction of a shared collective memory, and each produced by a cameraperson in the DSTV crew. In a collision of form and substance, all circles the moon and dirt shines in the sun proposes an emotional topography of DSTVโs work over the last 15 years, a living and growing archive of Torajan life, individual and communal.
๐๐ฅ๐ฅ ๐๐ข๐ซ๐๐ฅ๐๐ฌ ๐ญ๐ก๐ ๐ฆ๐จ๐จ๐ง & ๐๐ข๐ซ๐ญ ๐ฌ๐ก๐ข๐ง๐๐ฌ ๐ข๐ง ๐ญ๐ก๐ ๐ฌ๐ฎ๐ง is made up of over 4000 separate clips from the DSTV video archive. Re-arranged and constructed by Wahyu Al Mardhani and Chris Cochrane-Friedrich, the archival video material is accompanied by text from interviews conducted with the founder of DSTV, Victor Konda, over the last four years and sound recordings collected by sound artist Josh Peters in Toraja.
The title of the work is one English interpretation of the ancient name for the Torajan territories; tondok lepongan bulan, tana matariโ allo. High Torajan language, used mainly for ceremony, is a pluralist language, in that each word contains multiple meanings. The title attempts to access the poetry of the High Torajan language while translating some of its original meaning.
๐๐ฅ๐ฅ ๐๐ข๐ซ๐๐ฅ๐๐ฌ ๐ญ๐ก๐ ๐ฆ๐จ๐จ๐ง & ๐๐ข๐ซ๐ญ ๐ฌ๐ก๐ข๐ง๐๐ฌ ๐ข๐ง ๐ญ๐ก๐ ๐ฌ๐ฎ๐ง is the culmination of two years of creative partnership and shared research by what has become the Sipakatuo (Glorify One Another) project. The work is accompanied by an online interview series conducted by the contributors to the project with relevant and significant artists and researchers, each with expertise and experience pertaining to the methods and processes undertaken during the creation of this installation. This research has in turn nourished and informed the creative process and shaped their approach to collaboration and co-creation.
The contributors would like to thank each and every interviewee for their time, knowledge and generosity. This project is presented and supported by Asialink Arts with generous funding assistance from the Victorian government through Creative Victoria, we gratefully acknowledge additional event support from Project Eleven.
Disclaimer:
This work includes images of a person who has passed away and their bodyโs preparation for a funeral ceremony. Some viewers may find this footage distressing.
DSTV:
Victor Konda
Egy Tonapa
Paul Tandiayu
Edwar Kevin Ada
Arnolbi Tappe
Contributors:
Wahyu Al-Mardhani
Chris Cochrane-Friedrich
Josh Peters
Afifah Tasya
Sam Hewison
Irfan Ashar Pratama
Alif Imam Dzaki
Image design by Cosmo Feltham and Chris Cochrane-Friedrich.