Songs to uncover what is there

Songs to uncover what is there brings together artists to explore the music, songs, and sounds that shape our understanding of, and connection to memory and the past. Whether songs of celebration or mourning, music has the ability to trigger complex emotions and memories, connecting across generations.

Chun Yin Rainbow Chan (VIC)’s As Far Away As Heaven From Earth (2022) is an installation comprising silk paintings, backstrap loom weaving and sound. Chan has worked collaboratively with her mother and extended family to uncover bridal and funeral laments, which have been revived, layered and amplified in the gallery space.

Brad Darkson’s songlines (2024) infuses the gallery with a sense of nostalgia. His work captures the monotony and familiarity that characterised the fortnightly trips between his mother and father’s houses in his youth. The soundtrack, broken and fading in and out, mimics both the glitches in our memories, and the way in which we snap in and out of concentration on these long journeys. 

Proud Mary (2007, 2012, 2017, 2022 ongoing), by Daniel Mudie Cunningham, compresses four “Daniels”, shot 5 years apart, and places them in contrast and comparison with each other. This is a joyous work, celebrating the artist as he ages, while acting as an object for reflection.

Like many people, I have created an internal soundtrack to my life, one I continue to add to as I age. The songs in this exhibition hold a special place for these three artists, each one being used as a conduit that connects them with their past and present, compressing time between these moments.