Ecological emergency the focus of ACCA’s summer exhibition

The Australian Centre of Contemporary Art’s major summer exhibition The Charge That Binds presents works by Australian and international artists celebrating the dynamism, vitality and power of natural phenomena until March 16.

Grappling with the entwined issues of ongoing climate change and entrenched social inequity, the works are underscored by a recognition that exploitation of nature, cultural domination and territorial occupation are often part of ongoing colonial processes.

Alongside several key new commissions, The Charge That Binds traverses a broad range of media including painting, sculpture, moving image, sound and choreography.

This includes Brook Wandin’s soundscape combining environmental sounds recorded on Country intermingled with community members enunciating Woiwurrung language. 

Additionally, Megan Cope’s wall drawing derived from drone footage capturing a 360-degree view of the horizon line at View Hill near Healesville can be explored.

Visitors can also consider large-scale mobile sculptures by Francis Carmody exploring the impact of geomagnetic reversal events on the evolution of life on Earth, or a sculptural installation by Alicia Frankovich, which intersects references to advanced astronautical technology with organic life.

The Charge That Binds adopts a collective curatorial model, with oversight from an advisory group including experts working in Victoria and Queensland.

The exhibition will be accompanied by a series of experimental workshops, discussions, performances and pedagogical investigations, including the two-day program Relational Ecologies Intensive from February 21 to 22. 

Presented in partnership with the Climate Aware Creative Practice Network, it will consist of reading groups, walk-shops, speculative design workshops, and performances drawn from the nation-wide network and the exhibition’s artists.

Another project associated with the exhibition is Alicia Frankovich’s Featherstar performance from February 22 and 24 at 6pm, a choreographed work that responds to her sculpture in the exhibition. 

The Charge That Binds is open Tuesday to Friday from 10am to 5pm and on weekends from 11am to 5pm. Entry is free. •