WaterTalks Exhibition 2025

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The exhibition highlights the central role of water in societies, particularly important for First Nations people, emphasising waters' cultural, spiritual, and economic significance.

WaterTalks presents the Hunter River, known as Coquun-Myan to the Traditional Custodians, as a living entity, shedding light on the profound and pervasive impacts of the Anthropocene on the River. Where the Coquun-Myan once ebbed and flowed under the will of nature and a collective stewardship, it is now controlled by anthropocentric conditions, interfering with lifeways and traditions founded on a relationship with water and interdependence with nature. The decoupling of water entitlements from land titles has created a market for purchasable water titles, leading to water conflicts and concerns for water security. The exclusion of Indigenous knowledge systems, 'Earth Law' (Poelina, 2023), in favour of Western paradigms has led to poor outcomes for the Coquun, reinforcing the colonial perception of the River as a commodifiable resource or menace, and resulting in profound social, cultural and environmental consequences.

WaterTalks centres the Coquun-Myan as a vital character in the Hunter, with its history and stories, deserving of agency and protection, and a central place in future custodianship and conservation efforts. The hydrosocial narratives will be depicted through a series of artefacts, projections and interactive elements that centre the viewer in colonialist and post-colonialist practices, belonging, ownership, extractivism, dispossession and the biodiversity and climate crisis that shape the River and its memories. The selected artwork shares its stories and history, informed by a transdisciplinary collaboration between Indigenous, geospatial, environmental and cultural research and practices, and observed through the artistic lens.

The exhibition does not aim to restore or correct the 'true' image of the Coquun-Myan-Hunter River, nor to offer a more valid version of its history or 'right' future. Conversely, it aims to contribute to accelerating actions, programs and all actors' participation, such as the River and its water systems as living entities, the Indigenous cultural knowledge and attachment to Country, and a more respectful and less predatory relationship with other beings, through a more-than-humans approach, challenging the ontological division between culture, nature, space, and others.

Creative team

• Irene Perez Lopez

• Maria Cano Dominguez

• Shellie Smith

• Prof Glenn Albrecht

• Mia Tulumovic

• Ananya Khujneri

• Therese Keogh

• Nicole Chaffey

Researcher team | Choi Cai, Jye White, Dr. Callum Twomey.

Videographer | Adviteeja Khujneri