Artist: Moon Joo Work: Tears of the Land (2003) Location: Kellerberrin, Western Australia
Moon Joo’s exhibition Tears of the Land offered a poetic reading of the wheatbelt landscape. During his residency the artist met with farmers and school children to explore the contrast between imaginative and utilitarian views of the land. This research was used to create beautiful photographs accompanied by short, poetic inscriptions in both Korean and English. In these captions the relationship between text and image is analogical, allowing the onlooker the freedom to construe their own interpretations. The exhibition also included an installation in which a large number of water vessels donated by local residents were displayed on old wooden tables scattered all around the gallery floor. This simple yet imposing arrangement held a ritualistic aura that encouraged a quietly contemplative engagement from the onlooker.