We must catch up — equinox burn

Documentation of the burning of the performative sculpture we must catch up 2017/2019 to 2023 “In a poignant act of closure and rebirth, artist Perdita Phillips bid farewell to her interactive masterpiece, We Must Catch Up, at The Farm Margaret River. “It’s a burning mountain, a landmark turned into an emotion-mark. The spring equinox is a time of renewal—new life—new light. For those who climbed the mountain, we can remember the conversations that we had as a counterpoint to its fiery destruction.” The sculpture began as an indoor installation at the ARI Paper Mountain in 2017, before being reconfigured and reinstalled at The Farm Margaret River in 2019. Video commissioned by The Farm Margaret River  https://www.instagram.com/thefarmmargaretriver/ Videography by Olive Lipscombe We must catch up was an art project and performative sculpture about deep time, Bular Mial (Bluff Knoll in Koi Kyenunu-ruff/the Stirling Ranges), biodiversity, and catching up with friends:

“…How’s things? What are you up to now? What’s on your mind at the moment? Aren’t times weird. What do we do about this weirdness? Would you like to catch up for a half hour chat? On top of a mountain? It’s been soooooooo long since we last talked…”

Project Reflection

The last of the sun’s light was being soaked up by the fringing forest at The Farm, Margaret River. The black mountain had been primed with fuel to help it burn. People had had their last go at climbing the ladder and sitting on the two chairs that faced each other. It was good to remember the slight vertigo of this precarious perch. The chairs were well marked with where local birds had used them to survey the cow paddocks. Wood fungus and grass had taken hold within and on top of the mountain. Although the form of Bular Mial (Bluff Knoll) was still recognisable, it had decayed in the sun and rain. It was a half-thing—not quite the sculpture it once was—ready for transition. We must catch up carries with it the conversations that were had by many and its origins as a performative way of thinking about how the deep time of the Stirling Ranges and the shorter, but just as important, biological time of plant communities, intersect with the human need to converse and reconcile. We reflected upon how community that had come together to make the mountain. Inadvertently, We Must Catch Up had also acquired echoes of the memories of people who had died on Bular Mial. Ecologists see the devastating effects of the Phytophthora (water mould) genus on plant communities in the southwest of Western Australia. But the complexity of feelings swirling around the mountain need not paralyse us into eco-grief: the dark slopes visually echo natural fire regimes that bring regrowth. Those who had climbed and talked experienced a time of reflection. Words exchanged at the top of the mountain were often said in an atmosphere of vulnerability and openness—and healing had occurred. We Must Catch Up explored talking through doubt and progressing towards action: a sculptural landmark on The Farm that was also an ‘emotion-mark’. The spring equinox is a time of renewal—new life—new light. We lit the fuse and let the mountain turn into smoke. All that remained was the ladder’s burnt rungs. The force of the fire had turned the black mountain’s ochre into red oxide. Grass will grow over the site again, but we can hold fast to the heart-to-heart exchanges that were had. In confusing and compromising times, we must take action despite being surrounded by doubt.