I Know Where Oysters Lie

Abstract

This research honours the Baludarri (Sydney Rock Oyster). It is interdisciplinary in its approach and showcases the work of Australian born artist, Sarah Jane Moore. It presents key findings from an artistic residency at UNSW in Sydney, Australia, through the modalities of image, song and text. It highlights the importance of the humble oyster and maps an art-meets-science approach where Moore’s creative thinking seeks inspiration from her relationship with the work of an Indigenous scientist, Laura Parker. The oyster is Moore’s living data and the work maps the deep listenings necessary to foster communities that value reefs, hold oceans as sacred and regard the oyster as a precious entity to be celebrated, protected and nourished.