Ripairian: Imprinting the Living Landscape
by Annette Peterson.
Dispatch Review
December, 2025
As ecological instabilities multiply, artists are finding new ways to address environmental changes and crises. Ripairian, a hybrid performance led by academic and social change advocate Dr Vahri McKenzie and curated by Gemma Ben-Ary, is a multi-sensory exploration of the significance of the Mandoon Bilya (Helena River) in Western Australia. Presented at Midland Junction Arts Centre and broadcast live from the river site via eight video channels, Ripairian positions the river as both subject and collaborator, merging performance, ritual, and documentation to prompt reflection on human relationships with natural systems.
"The work refuses a single narrative or stable perspective, instead evoking the fluidity and uncertainty inherent in ecological systems."
by Annette Peterson.
Dispatch Review
December, 2025
As ecological instabilities multiply, artists are finding new ways to address environmental changes and crises. Ripairian, a hybrid performance led by academic and social change advocate Dr Vahri McKenzie and curated by Gemma Ben-Ary, is a multi-sensory exploration of the significance of the Mandoon Bilya (Helena River) in Western Australia. Presented at Midland Junction Arts Centre and broadcast live from the river site via eight video channels, Ripairian positions the river as both subject and collaborator, merging performance, ritual, and documentation to prompt reflection on human relationships with natural systems.
"The work refuses a single narrative or stable perspective, instead evoking the fluidity and uncertainty inherent in ecological systems."
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