Why I chose 'Burning'

I chose 'Something to Bear and Behold - Burning' amongst a list of other captivating images and photographs because it was the only one that completely intrigued me and made me want to know more. One day I went and sat in a lecture given by photographer Bill Henson, this year in the National Gallery of Victoria. He said something along the lines of 'you know an artwork has done its job when you leave with more questions than you came with'. Those words have had a profound effect on me and have made me want to question photographs and artworks even further than the 'how did they do it' stage. When I first saw 'Burning' in class I was almost taken back; I loved how Jill Orr conveyed her concerns for the environment through performance art. I truly feel like her work makes you wonder and reflect on your own carbon footprint by capturing your attention using the juxtaposition of fire and ice. Her way of staying true to her concepts and passions has inspired me for my own work, of course, and makes me want to think more outside the box that photography can sometimes put us in.

Major Project no. 2

Major Project no. 1

For my major project this year I chose to explore how young adults, mainly females, sometimes fear fading away and being forgotten. I wanted to create a scene where the audience could feel the disconnection displayed by the young women, perhaps sympathise with them. I found a way to put my own flair within the series by creating a double exposure effect, playing with the literal sense of fading away. This work is still in its shooting and editing stages but I believe with drive and passion I'll be able to create a series I can be proud of. Artists such as Jill Orr, Bill Henson, Samantha Everton and Gregory Crewdson truly inspire me due to their dedication to their concepts and their endless abilities to keep me curious. One day I would like to have my work displayed in an art gallery just as they have. I look forward to the day where people from all over the world can view my prints and come away more curious and more opinionated then they had been before. I truly admire Jill Orr’s performance artwork because she isn’t afraid to try something new, take risks and clearly and queerly portray her conceptions to the viewers.

St. Kilda - My Photograph

What I also admired from Orr’s work was her aptitude to working with the environment. She inspired me not just to think of the environment as an ordinary landscape waiting to be photographed but of a place with hidden meanings and importance behind every ripple and grain. I haven’t had  much experience in photography so when I came across her work, I was immediately captivated by the elements used and I admired how she was able to draw my attention away from the print and pull me into the environment. Perhaps one day my imagery will go from peering through an open window to stepping through a door and really enveloping oneself within the scene.

My Interpretation

'Flame'

I find the image ‘Southern Cross – to bear and behold – Burning’ to be a highly captivating and strong piece of work, both visually and conceptually. Jill Orr is able to portray her ideas regarding environmental issues so clearly and still show a strong sense of individualism over the work though it was collaboration with a photographer. Within the image, Orr becomes the director and performer as she dominates the Australian landscape. 

The scene depicts Orr interrupting a cold baron wasteland with her trail of footsteps and saturated cloud of fire. It is clear Orr is making a comment on the environment by the use of the elements and the immediate reaction caused by the fire and ice. The eye is directly drawn to the intense burst of flames. The warm hues of yellow, orange and red create a burnt texture which reciprocates as high contrast against the white, grey and black background. Jill Orr, though she is not overly large in scale within the frame, still remains as a dominant figure carving a path of queer destruction. She appears to be looking towards the viewer but half her face is shrouded by the intensity of the fire, therefore drawing even more attention to the overbearing presence of the element. 

The photograph appears in a landscape orientation and becomes her own distorted undesirable place because, from what I see, some of her face appears proud or even intimidating. What enticed me to this photograph were the textures and gradients, allowing the viewer to trust that the ground really is a shadowy substance and the fire really is a small yet powerful omen. I believe that the combination of the two elements serve as characters within Orr’s play, reiterating her feelings within the title ‘to bear and behold’. The lake and human figure of Orr bears the weight of the fire whilst the onlooker can’t help but to behold, to constantly observe such a dynamic scene.

Social, Political and Cultural Context

Walking On Planet Earth - 1989 - Jill Orr

It can be easily said that the image 'Southern Cross - To Bear and Behold - Burning' contains various meanings. Jill Orr stated that "The land is hot, so hot that your protection bursts into flames." which inspired her 1989 image ‘Walking on Planet Earth photographed by Virginia Fraser. She undoubtedly echoes this comment in the 2007 contemporary work, playing with the same notions of the importance of our relationship with the environment. Orr also insinuated that the environmental cautions of the 1960s, 70s and 80s were somewhat ignored and that it has taken reaching the 21st century to “reach environmental, economic and political urgency”. Though I view the fire as a worrying figure within the scene, Orr believes that the fire becomes can also become a positive quality, igniting the fire within our ‘heart, body and mind’ to aid our environmental woes, especially when compared with the 1989 image.

I believe the words “the colonial woman is seen doing symbolic battle with a huge earth-moving machine” by Anne Marsh (2003), when referring to ‘Walking on Planet Earth’, can also be applied to the concept of ‘Burning’. Orr dresses in heavy 19th century clothing imitating the post-colonial Australian era, using the archetype as a basis for her views regarding the environment and our previous inability to initiate positive change. The use of the fire being created within the perceivably infinite space acts as a catalyst for Orr’s many meanings, spurring on thoughts concerning the weighed down female figure within society and the anthropological interaction with our surroundings. Though the performance artist may resemble mother earth and other feminine figures, it can be said that the landscape was intended to be the more dominant theme.

Danielle Smelter the curator for the Horsham Regional Art Gallery, once wrote in the catalogue, ‘Jill Orr: Works from the Wimmera’ (2010), of Orr’s performance on the Mitre Lake as a photograph that speaks “loudly to local histories of missions and early Christian settlers across the region” which can also be seen in her ‘Faith in a Faithless Land’ series. This would be referring to Orr walking across the lake as a ghost-like figure within the horizon-less landscape, possibly bringing forth a spiritual and supernatural edge to the performance especially with the ominous trail of black footprints and the burst of constructed fire. Smelter also discusses the name of the Mitre Lake, referencing the Mitre Rock which she said resembles a Bishop’s mitre, traditional ceremonial headgear, overlooking the lake. The existence of the meaning behind the 'mitre' can also reflect upon the existence of social and political authority and it's inability to help change the environment's fate, for example concerning global warming debate. Therefore this reveals Orr’s attempt to convey her messages of environmental importance as more intricate than originally perceived which, of course, makes for a very compelling image and series.

Burning Beginning

'Southern Cross - To Bear and Behold - Burning'

Disclaimer: The purpose of this blog is to educate and show others my appreciation for the above photograph of performance artist Jill Orr. None of the images on this blog are mine unless otherwise stated and I have not been endorsed or told what to share by anyone.

 

This image is titled 'Burning' which is from the 2007 'Southern Cross to bear and behold' series, created by the artist Jill Orr and photographer Naomi Herzog. It is an inkjet print which measures 65.5cm by 134.9 cm. It was taken on the Mitre Lake in Wimmera, Victoria and was purchased by the Victorian Foundation for Living Australian Artists in 2010.

Mitre Lake and Mitre Rock by Duncan Yoyos

As stated by Jill Orr’s ‘Southern Cross – To Bear and Behold’ series page, the Mitre lake is home to the remaining Djurid Balug people of the Wotjobaluk Tribe and is situated near the Mitre Rock which is a part of Mount Arapiles in Western Victoria. In the eyes of the artist, the lake is said to have a “sulphuric and luminous” consistency. It works as a reminder of the numerous others dried up salt lakes, which may have been caused by mining, erosion and or drought. The Mitre Lake is said to temporarily reveal imprints when there’s contact with its surface by creating a black matter. The momentarily harsh surface served as a contrast between the immediate fragile white lake with the murky underbelly. Perhaps the lake becomes the backdrop as the artist attempts to juxtapose people’s glazed view of the state of our environment against the harsh undeniable truth.