Dissolve the Walls
Single channel video, 4 channel audio, 20mins
Inspired by Natalie Harkin’s poem “Cultural Precinct”, the work looks beneath the surface and listens between the cracks by dissolving the walls built by colonial settlement in Kaurna Yerta through a journey of sonic archaeology and de-colonial listening. Along the institutional buildings of present-day North Terrace in South Australia, the materiality of these buildings reveal their past— the first red bricks made of clay from the river bed, the limestone walls taken from the old quarry. Enduring time and space, the spirits within these materials carry us with them to witness their history. We travel through the galleries, museums, former Armoury storage and Police Barracks towards the Karrawirra Parri (River Torrens) where Indigenous Kaurna life, cultural activities and native animals existed long before.
Artist/Director: Allison Chhorn
Producer: Chris Luscri
Cultural Consultant & Storyteller: Uncle Mickey O’Brien
Sound Design: Josh Peters
Exhitibions:
North Terrace: worlds in relief, Samstag Museum of Art, Adelaide, 2025