Melbourne-based artist and choreographer Joel Bray, a proud Wiradjuri man, is in the process of creating a new work: Giraru Galing Ganhagirri (which translates to The Wind Will Bring The Rain in the Wiradjuri language). In this work, he uses film as a medium to explore the meditative themes of country, cycles of nature, and the interconnectedness of everything.
On August 22, Joel Bray live-streamed a preview into the development of this work as part of Take Over! (a collaboration between Melbourne Fringe and Arts Centre Melbourne), in which he shared sketches of his choreography (set to music by composer Daniel Nixon), exploring his body as a terrain. He also spoke about what inspired this work, his process, and his vision for how it might all eventually unfold.
I had the privilege of continuing that conversation with him in depth the following week, and learning a lot from him in this video interview.
At this stage it is uncertain whether a showing of this work will be able to go ahead at Melbourne Fringe in November 2020, as originally planned. But whenever it does go ahead (first in the form of a film and eventually in the form of a live installation), this promises to be a work of lasting appeal, with a grounding, enduring quality that will never not be timely or relevant.
Jaya Berged 