Page 19 - Art Almanac (February 2020)

Manly Dam Project

Eight contemporary artists; Shoufay Derz, Blak Douglas, Nigel Helyer, David Middlebrook, Sue
Pedley, Melissa Smith, Cathe Stack and Nicole Welch – along with eight engineers from the Water
Research Laboratory (WRL), formed an open forum to research and discuss the critical role water
and coastal management play in Australia’s future.

Their focus, the Manly Dam area – a unique landscape in Sydney’s north rich in natural
biodiversity, shaped by the interventions of engineering and science, layered with Aboriginal
cultural significance, and social and recreational activity.

Their efforts led to the Manly Dam Project, curated by Professor Ian Turner and Katherine
Roberts, and the third of a series of significant art and science partnership projects involving the
Manly Art Gallery & Museum, with works currently on show until 23 February. Some artists drew
direct inspiration from the Manly Dam environment. With deep respect and responsiveness to
the Aboriginal cultural heritage of the area, ‘they researched its biodiversity, social history and
engineering story to create work that is poetic, powerful and provocative,’ said Roberts.

Several public programs accompany the exhibition. Join sculptor, sound artist and writer Dr
Nigel Helyer (a.k.a. DrSonique) for a Sound Walk Workshop on Monday 10 February and be led
on an audio journey to find the descriptive and analytical language to describe sound in the
environment. Attend the WRL Open Day on Saturday 15 February, and participate in a guided
walk on Friday 21 February along the escarpment of the Manly Dam to the Curl Curl Creek
waterfall, returning along the water’s edge.

Blak Douglas, Dam nation, 2019, synthetic polymer on canvas, 200 x 300cm
Courtesy the artist and Manly Art Gallery & Museum
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