occupation studies
An analysis of colonisation and the impact on land and water management in Victoria, Australia by the 2024 Creative in Residence at the Victorian Archives Centre, Tahlia Palmer.
By Public Record Office Victoria (State Archives of Victoria, Australia)
All video works produced and owned by Tahlia Palmer with assistance by AI technology.
The annual Creative in Residence programme is granted to an artist, musician, designer or writer creating compelling work with archives in Victoria, Australia. Through her audio-visual work, Tahlia Palmer examined the ways in which Indigenous knowledge has been disregarded by European colonial powers within settler-colonial society.
occupation studies
"My research is analysing the European colonial mentality, and critiquing how and why local knowledge built across at least 9000 generations of land and water management was largely dismissed by those with power in settler-colonial society" Tahlia Palmer
Tahlia's work exposes the suppression of vital Indigenous knowledge systems. Learn more about her research in this interview.
riparian zone (still) (2024) by Tahlia PalmerPublic Record Office Victoria (State Archives of Victoria, Australia)
riparian zone
‘riparian zone’ is the only work in this collection that doesn’t include AI. The objects in the installation represent the colonial presence, for example the animal skulls are all from introduced species. The video is constructed of footage Tahlia took in different water catchments.
"The works are hypnotic compositions of sound and images built from archival records, and audio and visual field research from across Wurundjeri, Wadawurrung, Djadjawurung, Taungurung, Gunditjmara and Dhuduroa Countries, and AI generated sounds and images based on that data."
'occupation studies' exhibition view showing 'riparian zone' (2024) by Tahlia PalmerPublic Record Office Victoria (State Archives of Victoria, Australia)
'riparian zone' layers field recordings, including underwater sound recordings from reservoirs that have healthier eco systems, and those that don’t, to speak to how these water catchment areas are ripe spaces to discuss life.
" The work invites audiences to reflect on their relationship with history, with Country, and with socio-economic disparity on this continent. To reflect on grief, frustration, and inspiration towards change, like trusting Indigenous knowledge, scientific and cultural combined knowledge, no separation; reciprocal nourishment feedback between all life forms, including the rocks, the water, the sky: there is spirit in all of it, stories in all of it. We owe our continued existence to that way of thinking. We can build a better future for everyone with that way of thinking." Tahlia Palmer
'occupation studies' exhibition view of left wall (2024) by Tahlia PalmerPublic Record Office Victoria (State Archives of Victoria, Australia)
'occupation studies' installation view
Through the layering and distortion of archival images, Palmer powerfully visualizes the destruction inflicted upon First Nations people. The artist's technique underscores the lasting impact of colonialism.
How to handle a firehose (1940/1960) by Victorian Railways. Public Record Office VictoriaPublic Record Office Victoria (State Archives of Victoria, Australia)
'occupation studies' exhibition view showing prints of quotes and archival images (2024) by Tahlia PalmerPublic Record Office Victoria (State Archives of Victoria, Australia)
Archival insights
Excerpts from Public Record Office Victoria's collection highlight the historical context behind Palmer's artistic statements and themes.
'occupation studies' exhibition showing 'how to handle a fire hose' and 'tallangata' (2024) by Tahlia PalmerPublic Record Office Victoria (State Archives of Victoria, Australia)
"Land use transformations such as the introduction of new crops, stock, and pest species and changes in farm practices to intensive industrial methods also contribute to the diminishment of riverine ecologies. The acidification of ephemeral wetlands has seen a striking loss of fertility"
"During the 'Millenium Drought' this stored water was released and, as a result, the long submerged acid-sulphate soils were oxygenated and became more toxic than battery acid. Wetlands, known as billabongs, have always been an important refuge for wildlife during drought times."
agriculture
"Now, these poisoned wetlands no longer just fail to support life, their toxicity actually kills."
Weir, J.K. (2016) Hope and Farce: Indigenous Peoples Water Reforms during the Millenium Drought.
“I went looking for clues about their values, their ideology, the justification for attempted genocide, forced dispossession and land theft of Aboriginal land, and their willful ignorance and violent denial of deep knowledge about ecological systems.“
Tahlia Palmer
'occupation studies' exhibition view of the right wall (2024) by Tahlia PalmerPublic Record Office Victoria (State Archives of Victoria, Australia)
”The Henty train at Portland was called The Spirit of Progress while their sheep grazing ambitions violently dispossessed Gunditjimara Families from their own land.”
henty bay - Tahlia Palmer (2024) by Tahlia PalmerPublic Record Office Victoria (State Archives of Victoria, Australia)
henty bay
Edward Henty Train (1900/1950) by Victorian Railways and Public Record Office VictoriaPublic Record Office Victoria (State Archives of Victoria, Australia)
the train - Tahlia Palmer (2024) by Tahlia PalmerPublic Record Office Victoria (State Archives of Victoria, Australia)
the train
Tahlia Palmer
Mining Map of borough of Eaglehawk (circa late nineteenth century) by Geological Survey of VictoriaPublic Record Office Victoria (State Archives of Victoria, Australia)
Eaglehawk mining map
"...with all the mining dams marked in red I was really struck by how much they looked like burns or scars on skin. It made a big impact on me. I still think about it and how it is such a good visual representation of what has been done to Country."
Tahlia Palmer
"Western water management concepts seek to separate and compartmentalise water resources, whereas under Aboriginal water and land concepts, water is valued holistically and water and land are inseparable from one another."
Marshall , V. (2017) Overturning Aqua nullius: Securing Aboriginal Water rights.
Plenty River Cleanup (1973) by Melbourne Water CorporationPublic Record Office Victoria (State Archives of Victoria, Australia)
River and Creek Pollution and Maintenance. 1973
Clean up of Plenty River and Darebin Creek.
darebin - Tahlia Palmer (2024) by Tahlia PalmerPublic Record Office Victoria (State Archives of Victoria, Australia)
darebin
"I was fascinated by how Tallangatta had been drowned by the expansion of Lake Hume in the 1950s. It’s a water reservoir that feeds a lot of the State of Victoria and you can swim in it, you can fish in it and we all drink the water. But I know that Lake Hume drowned a bunch of other things as well as the town: cultural sites, sacred sites, eco-systems. We barely have any idea of the Aboriginal history that’s been drowned by these dams and water reservoirs because no one wants to think about it." Tahlia Palmer
Hume Dam Construction, Victoria. Australia (1928) by Victorian RailwaysPublic Record Office Victoria (State Archives of Victoria, Australia)
hume dam - Tahlia Palmer (2024) by Tahlia PalmerPublic Record Office Victoria (State Archives of Victoria, Australia)
" I used AI processes to distort some of the footage I’d taken to make it look like the older photos of river red gums taken before the clearing of these sorts of regions, trying to get a sense of past, present and future all at once."
Tahlia Palmer
Tallangatta by Tahlia Palmer (2024) by Tahlia PalmerPublic Record Office Victoria (State Archives of Victoria, Australia)
tallangatta
Exhibition content produced by Tahlia Palmer. Video interview with artist produced by Natasha Cantwell.
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