Artivism: Censorship, death, activism & art …

Bruguera, Tania, 2013, Art + activism=artivism, Speaking on her formula to artivism, Ted Talk Archive, Distributed: YouTube, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C38sPtBj4uo, accessed: 22.08.2022

BCM 111 Blog Post 2/3

Question: Consider what we’ve learned this week about global news reporting, and the dimension of social media in citizen journalism. Do you believe citizen journalism through social media is good, bad, or a bit of both? Why? Use academic readings to justify your conclusions. In doing so, choose a country/region of the world (that is not the US, UK, Canada, New Zealand or Australia) and discuss how it involves citizen journalism. Is it a practice that is beneficial for that region, exposing truths and stories the traditional media doesn’t cover? Does it obscure truth and spread misinformation, muddying the waters of good journalism in the region?

Just because the dominant culture or regime has not declared war, does not mean you’re not part of a citizens’ army. This idea for activism can be applied to the regions of Peru, Brazil, Bolivia, Argentina, Mexico, the list goes on… If you’re not an activist for something, perhaps you’ll fall for anything. Living under a dictatorship, injustice, corruption or colonisation, one might find themselves an activist. Often under injustice, the underdog becomes the watchdog. Censorship is often a problem but activism comes in many forms. This blog will describe censorship types, impacts for activist-journalism and propose interdisciplinary collaboration, convergence and code-switching as key strengths in producing “artivism” (Bruguera, 2013). Gonzales-Quinones & Machin-Mastromatteo (2019) articulate, the types of censorship, the worst being death.  There are five types of censorship that impact both citizen-activist and professional journalists;  self-censorship, administrative, espionage, monetary silencing and inverse censorship (Gonzales-Quinones & Machin-Mastromatteo, 2019; Johnson & Santos, 2013; Pinto, 2008; Savage & Monroy-Hernandez, 2018; Waisbord, 2009). 

Unpacking these, reveal a violent reality. Something, possibly not considered as part of Australian activist-journalism but, perhaps should. Self-censorship by activist-journalists is often the outcome of direct threats, acts of violence, sabotage, even murder. Administrative censorship is pressure by the state onto media councils and companies, forcing editorial content to favourably align with governmental or dictatorship rhetoric. Strategies of administrative censorship include manipulating or changing legislation to  control reporting. Consequently, these pressures can lead back to self censorship, for fear of reprisals (Gonzales-Quinones & Machin-Mastromatteo, 2019; Johnson & Santos, 2013; Pinto, 2008; Savage & Monroy-Hernandez, 2018; Waisbord, 2009). 

Censorship invoked by espionage often includes surveillance and hacking online activities and media platforms. This includes, profiling and targeting activist-citizen-journalists, members or groups to apply pressure, threat and or the dissemination of misinformation or propaganda. Sabotage also exists in the physical world for both professional journalists and activists. The monetization of censorship control is remuneration to extract pro-state or pro-cartel, editorial content. Thus putting pressure on outlets and or reporters to depict regimes favourably, locally and or internationally.  Drug cartels often use monetisation as inverse censorship. That is money to report violent events as a method of sending threats to their enemies (Gonzales-Quinones & Machin-Mastromatteo, 2019; Johnson & Santos, 2013; Pinto, 2008; Savage & Monroy-Hernandez, 2018; Waisbord, 2009). 

Article Image: Asmann, Parker, 2018, Latin America is the deadliest region for environmental activists: protest over the death of environmental activist, Berta Caceres, Honduras, 2016, , Open Democracy, blog, Image: accessed: 21.08.2022.

Citizen-activist journalism, however flawed or unprofessional it may seem at times, is necessary, fact checking is also always necessary. One example of citizen net-activism, Blog del Narco appeared in 2010. This anonymous blog reported on cartel activity and violence not represented in mainstream media. Net-activism, while being able to reach a larger audience than traditional types of media, leaves groups and its members vulnerable to being surveilled, individually identified, intimidated or worse. Suppression of information might be seen as one of the least harmful ways of silencing people when persecution and or even death could be an outcome. From these examples of censorship, activist or watchdog journalism is a deadly but necessary business in the South Americas (Gonzales-Quinones & Machin-Mastromatteo, 2019; Johnson & Santos, 2013; Pinto, 2008; Savage & Monroy-Hernandez, 2018; Waisbord, 2009). 

As I alluded in the first paragraph, activism comes in many forms and one key disruption to the censorship of activism is socially engaged, interdisciplinary collaboration. Intersectional activism is often seen in art. Moreover, it also often intersects with other significant issues caused by injustice, such as First Nations sovereignty and the environment. The collaborative video work, Con las guardianas del agua (With the guardians of water); (Morales et al, 2019), demonstrates the power of combining activist-journalism, contemporary art, technology and social media. Interdisciplinary socially engaged collaboration compounds the power to raise awareness, interrogate and interrupt injustice. This kind of collaborative convergence, not only strengthens the activism but also the complexities of code-switching dynamic languages, by the underdog and allies alike (Gonzales-Quinones & Machin-Mastromatteo, 2019; Johnson & Santos, 2013; Morales, et al, 2019; Pinto, 2008; Savage & Monroy-Hernandez, 2018; Waisbord, 2009). 

Morales, Daniela; Hernandez, Paz Maria Sintia Plaza; Cifuentes, Socorro Cancino; Denham, Ben, 2019, Con las guardianas del agua (With the guardians of water), Remedios Remix, a collection of First Nations voices for Country, With the Guardians of Water / Con las Guardianas del agua – English Subtitles https://remediosremix.art/2019/10/29/with-the-guardians-of-water/, accessed: 14-19.08.2022. 

Reference List:

Bruguera, Tania, 2013, Art + activism = artivism, Ted Talk Archive, Distributed YouTube, accessed: 22.08.2022.

Gonzalez-Quinones, Fidel & Machin-Mastromatteo, Juan D, 2019, ‘On Media Censorship: Freedom of expression & the risks of journalism in Mexico’, Information Development Index, Vol.35(4), p.666-670, Sage Publications, accessed: 20.08.2022.

Johnson, Shelly & Santos, Alessandra, 2013, ‘REDressing Invisibility & Marking Violence Against Indigenous Women in the Americas Through Art, Activism & Advocacy’, First People’s Child & Family Review, Vol.7, No.2, p.97-111, erudit.org, https://www.erudit.org/en/journals/fpcfr/1900-v1-n1-fpcfr05243/1068844ar.pdf, accessed: 20.08.2022.

Morales, Daniela; Hernandez, Paz Maria Sintia Plaza; Cifuentes, Socorro Cancino; Denham, Ben, 2019, Con las guardianas del agua (With the guardians of water), blog post, Remedios Remix, collective workshop in Water Conflicts in Abya Yala: Sociology of the Image, La Paz, Bolivia, https://remediosremix.art/rearguard-remix-remix-de-retaguardia/, https://remediosremix.art/2019/12/19/tenemos-redes-que-seguir-tejiendo/, accessed: 14-19.08.2022.

Pinto, Juliet, 2008, Muzzling the watchdog: The case of disappearing watchdog journalism from Argentine mainstream news, Journalism, Vol.9(6), p.750-774, DOI: 10.1177/1464884908096244, accessed:18.08.2022.

Savage, Saiph & Monroy-Hernández, Andre, 2018, ‘The Courage For” Facebook Pages: Advocacy Citizen Journalism in the Wild’, Citeseer, psu.edu, accessed: 20.08.2022.

Waisbord, Silvio, 2009, Advocacy Journalism in a Global Context in The Handbook of Journalism Studies, Ch.26, p.391-405, Wahl-Jorgensen, Karin & Hanitzch, Thomas (eds.), International Communication Association Handbook Series, Routledge, New York & London.

Bibliography:

Anonymous, 2010, Blog del Narco, https://www.blogdelnarcomexico.com/, accessed: 28.08.2022.

Gonzalez, Tanya, 2009, Art, Activism & Community; An introduction to Latina/o Literature, in Ethnic Literary Tradition in American Children’s Literature, Stewart MP & Atkinson Y (eds.), Palgrave Macmillan, New York, DOI: 10.105719780230101524_15, accessed: 15.08.2022.

Ksiazek & Webster, 2008, Cultural Proximity I Audience Behaviour: The Role of Language in Patterns of Polarisation & Multi-Cultural Fluency, Journal of Broadcasting & Electronic Media, Vol.52:3. P.485-503, accessed: 08.2022.

Lyon, David, 2002, Everyday Surveillance: Personal Data & Social Classifications; Information, Communication & Society, Iss.5, No.2, p.242-257, Taylor & Francis, accessed: 04.04.2022.

O’Shaughnessy, M, 2012, Globalisation in Media & Society, p.458-471, Oxford University Press, England, accessed: 08.2022.

Todd, Zoe, 2015, Indigenising the Anthropocene, Art in the Anthropocene: encounters among aesthetics, politics, environments & epistemologies, Open Humanities Press.

Wolfe, Patrick, 2006, Settler colonialism & the elimination of the native, Journal of Genocide Research, Vol.8:4, p.387-409, DOI:10.1080/146235220601056240, accessed: 12.08.2022.

Images & Videos:

Asmann, Parker, 2018, Latin America is the deadliest region for environmental activists, Open Democracy, blog, https://www.opendemocracy.net/en/democraciaabierta/latin-america-is-deadliest-region-for-environmental-activists, Image: accessed: 21.08.2022.

Bruguera, Tania, 2013, Art + activism = artivism, Ted Talk Archive, Distributed YouTube, accessed: 22.08.2022.

Morales, Daniela; Hernandez, Paz Maria Sintia Plaza; Cifuentes, Socorro Cancino; Denham, Ben, 2019, Con las guardianas del agua (With the guardians of water), Remedios Remix, With the Guardians of Water / Con las Guardianas del agua – English Subtitles https://remediosremix.art/2019/10/29/with-the-guardians-of-water/, Distributed: YouTube, accessed: 14-19.08.2022. 

End

Popcorn Anyone?

 Image: Taste of Home: https://www.tasteofhome.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/06/TOH-we-tried-social-nostalgia-popcorn-machine-Emily-Parulski.jpg

BCM 111 Assignment 1: Blog 1/3: Question: What popular culture do you consume? Explain its popularity using one of the key theories. Use two academic sources from the Subject Readings, your own or a combination. Post to Twitter with #BCM111.

Notice: Aboriginal & Torres Strait Islanders, this blog contains images and voices of people who are deceased.

Popcorn Anyone?

I have an issue with popcorn… I do. I deploy the word popcorn as a race theory metaphor for my critical mistrust of capitalist and consumerist mass media, commodification of indigeneity and exploitation of the environment. Through this lens, most popular culture rhetoric, popcorn-culture, seems either destructively entitled, ignorant and unaccountable to either. This leaves us in a chronic homogenised Anthropocene, of intellectual and cultural malnutrition (Carlson & Frazer, 2018; Friedman, 2010; hooks, 1992; McFarlane, 2003; Moreton-Robinson, 2009; O’Shaughnessy, 2012;  Todd, 2015; Wolfe, 2006).

Like anything created by humans, popcorn-culture and mass media have both positive and negative aspects concurrently. O’Shaughnessy, (2012) outlines utopian and dystopian elements of living in a networked, global community such as, a sense of connectedness for many, versus appropriation and exploitation of culture for others (Allas, 2015; Carlson & Frazer, 2018; Friedman, 2010; McFarlane, 2003; Moreton-Robinson, 2009; Todd, 2015). I’m not afraid of being wrong about popcorn. What I’m afraid of is, commodification as another way dominant culture perpetuates ethnographic invisibility of indigeneity via its popcorn machines rather than, acknowledging our contributions to the networked, global village and with more than just popular culture (Allas, 2015; Carlson & Frazer, 2018; Friedman, 2010; McFarlane, 2003; Moreton-Robinson, 2009; O’Shaughnessy, 2012; Todd, 2015; Wolfe, 2006).

Excluding nations like Dharawal and other Indigenous nations (Australia), Māori (New Zealand) and the Native Indian nations (United States) from discussions of mainstream, popular culture and globalisation, contributes to ongoing denial that diverse Indigenous nations live in dual cultures but same geographies, it’s a digitally networked type of ethnography. If the argument is that English is the predominant language of those countries, that would be the first clue that, culturally and socio-politically, there might be cause for concern. Our contribution to popular culture per capita, is unmatched (Allas, 2015; Carlson & Frazer, 2018; Friedman, 2010; McFarlane, 2003; Moreton-Robinson, 2009; O’Shaughnessy, 2012; Todd, 2015; Wolfe, 2006).

Example: indigenous popular culture,  cultural & linguistic duality and allyship, Yunupingu, Gurrumul & Kelly Paul, 2016, Amazing Grace, performed live on Q & A, Mental As, Australian Broadcasting Commission, ABC, Distributed: YouTube, accessed: 15.08.2022.

I would love to deep dive into a supersized bucket of popcorn and wallow in the buttery privilege of simply, answering the assignment question, about my me-centred popcorn bingeing. However, when the topic fails to include the world’s indigenous voices within these contexts, it forces my indigenous intellectual hand to shake the popcorn and the bucket! My assignment answer then, is handed over to blaktivism. Instead of choking on over-puffed, non-Indigenous flavoured popcorn in the dark with strangers and simply answering the assignment question, I must blak track. Blak tracking, as I call it, requires I do at least three times the work to make indigeneity visible as a key contemporary, cultural contributor, not being excluded from these scripts (Allas, 2015; Carlson & Frazer, 2018; Friedman, 2010; hooks, 1992; Ksiazek & Webster, 2008; McFarlane, 2003; Moreton-Robinson, 2009; Wolfe, 2010).

Example: Contemporary songlines, through media convergence and intergenerational collaboration, Archie Roach Covers Bob Marley, ‘Redemption Song/OneLove/Get Up Stand/Up’ for Like a Version, Triple J Radio, (00.00-00.60), (clip), Distributor: YouTube:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tSj-LFju6Oc, accessed:14.08.2022.

Not only do I feel pressure to learn and appropriately regurgitate non-Indigenous content better than most students, but I must also set about locating and absorbing research that edits and corrects ethnographic narratives and non-narratives. I need to gather evidence for and of, my absolute frustration about digression from the set assignment. Then, as my assignment stands, I am decolonising a vernacular that consistently relegates indigeneity to the fringes of society and the global conversation. We are a global culture (Allas, 2015; Carlson & Frazer, 2018; Friedman, 2010; hooks, 1992; Ksiazek & Webster, 2008; McFarlane, 2003; Moreton-Robinson, 2009; Wolfe, 2010). 

Example: Decolonising education,  Dr. Jodi Edwards (ed.), Dharawal: Words, Phrases & Activities, 2022, Image: <https://pbs.twimg.com/media/FXC0e8naMAEBrZh?format=jpg&name=large&gt;, accessed:13.08.2022.

Perhaps the point has missed me and there’s more to learn around future’s corner or… I’m just allergic to popcorn. I’m going to conclude this blog from a decolonised, culturally revitalised position of strength, with an example of one Indigenous nation, the Dharawal people, thriving in dual cultures, utilising the western popular culture format of a colouring-in and activity book, to share ancient knowledge with Indigenous and non, for generations now and to come – and that’s how I think inclusivity could work in the networked, globalised village, glocally (Allas, 2015; Carlson & Frazer, 2018; Friedman, 2010; McFarlane, 2003; Moreton-Robinson, 2009; O’Shaughnessy, 2012; Todd, 2015; Wolfe, 2006).

Thanx for popping by…

Juundaal Strang-Yettica BCM 110

REFERENCE LIST:

Allas, Ruben D, 2015, Globalisation in Art & Culture, 2015, article for Artlink Magazine, June 2015, p.1-13.

Carlson, Bronwyn; Frazer, Ryan, 2018, ‘Yarning circles & media activism’, Media International, Vol.169, Iss.1, p.43-53, <https://journals-sagepub-com.ezproxy.uow.edu.au/doi/10.1177/1329878X18803762?icid=int.sj-full-text.similar-articles.2&gt;, accessed 13.08.2022.

Friedman, Jonathon, 2010, ‘Indigenous Struggles & The Discreet Charm of the Bourgeoisie’, The Australian Journal of Anthropology, Vol.10:1, p.1-14, Social Anthropology, University of Lund, accessed: 13.08.2022.

hooks, bell, 1992 Black Looks: race & representation, 1992 & 2015, South End Press, Boston, US.

Ksiazek, Thomas & Webster, James, 2008, ‘Cultural Proximity I Audience Behaviour: The Role of Language in Patterns of Polarisation & Multi-Cultural Fluency’, Journal of Broadcasting & Electronic Media, Vol.52:3. P.485-503, accessed: 08.2022.

McFarlane, Brian, 2003, ‘Back Tracking’, Meanjin, Vol.62, Iss.1, p.59-58, Melbourne University Publishing, Australia, ISSN:0025-6293.

Moreton-Robinson, Aileen, 2009, ‘Imagining the good Indigenous citizen: Race War & the pathology of Patriarchal White Sovereignty’, UTC: Cultural Studies Review, Creative Commons Licence.

O’Shaughnessy, Michael, 2012, Globalisation in Media & Society, p.458-471, Oxford University Press, England, accessed: 08.2022..

Todd, Zoe, 2015, Indigenising the Anthropocene, Art in the Anthropocene: encounters among aesthetics, politics, environments & epistemologies, Open Humanities Press.

Wolfe, Patrick, 2006, ‘Settler colonialism & the elimination of the native’, Journal of Genocide Research, Vol.8:4, p.387-409, DOI:10.1080/146235220601056240, accessed: 12.08.2022.

BIBLIOGRAPHY:

Australian Arts Review blog post, 2019, ‘Blak & Bright: First Nations Literary Festival’, Australian Arts Review, <https://artsreview.com.au/blak-bright-first-nations-literary-festival/&gt;, accessed: 13.08.2022.

Bauer, Elise, 2022, ‘Perfect Popcorn: How to make a perfect batch of popcorn with no burnt kernels! Easy stove-top recipe’, Simply Recipes blog post, 03.01.2022, <https://www.simplyrecipes.com/recipes/perfect_popcorn/&gt;, accessed: 07.08.2022.

Edwards, Dustin W, 2020, ‘Digital Rhetoric on a Damaged Planet: Storying Digital Damage as Inventive Response to the Anthropocene’, Rhetoric Review, Vol.30:1, p.59-72, <https://www-tandfonline-com.ezproxy.uow.edu.au/doi/pdf/10.1080/07350198.2019.1690372&gt;, accessed: 07.08.2022.

Gergan, Mabel; Smith, Sara; Vasudevan, Pavithra, 2020, ‘Earth beyond repair: Race & apocalypse in collective imagination’, Environment & Planning D: Society & Space, Vol.38:1, p.91-110,<https://journals-sagepub-com.ezproxy.uow.edu.au/doi/full/10.1177/0263775818756079&gt;, accessed: 05.08.2022.

Langton, Marcia, 2008, ‘Trapped in the Aboriginality reality show,’ Griffith Review, Iss:19, p.143-159, <https://www.griffithreview.com/articles/trapped-in-the-aboriginal-reality-show/ >, accessed: 15.08.2022.

Latour, Bruno; Stengers, Isabelle; Tsing Anna; Bubandt, Nils, 2018, ‘Anthropologists are Talking About Capitalism, Ecology & Apocalypse’, Ethnos: Journal of Anthropology, Vol.83, Iss.3, accessed: 23.07.2022.

McCausland, Ruth, 2014, ‘Special treatment: the representation of Aboriginal People & Torres Strait Islander people in the media’, Journal of Indigenous Policy, <http://unsworks.unsw.edu.au/fapi/datastream/unsworks:77034/binca5017ae-1906-4de8-9ab9-ec8e320cca84?view=true&xy=01&gt;, accessed: 05.08.2022.

Moreton-Robinson, Aileen (ed.), 2004, Whitening Race: Essays in social and cultural criticism, Aboriginal Studies Press, Canberra, Australia.

Shifroni, Tamar 2012, Integrating Indigenous Culture & History into Popular Australian Media: An analysis of the 2012, Australian film, The Sapphires, WordPress blog, posted: 24.10.2018, <https://tamarshifroni.wordpress.com/2018/10/24/integrating-indigenous-culture-and-history-into-popular-australian-media-an-analysis-of-the-2012-australian-film-the-sapphires&gt;, accessed: 07.08.2022.

Singh, Michael, 1998, ‘Globalism, cultural diversity & tertiary education’, The Australian universities review, Vol.41:2, p.12-19, accessed: 13.08.2022, <https://search-informit-org.ezproxy.uow.edu.au/doi/epdf/10.3316/aeipt.93732&gt;, accessed: 10.08.2022.  

Tiddas, 1993, Inanay, album, Sing About Life, Mercury Records Pty. Ltd, Distribution: Universal Music Group & YouTube, accessed: 14.08.2022

Tsing, Anna Lowenhaupt, Bubandt, Nils, Gan, Elaine, Swanson, Heather Anne, 2017, Arts of Living on a Damaged Planet: Ghosts & Monsters of the Anthropocene, University of Minnesota Press, USA.

Yunkaporta, Tyson, 2019, sand talk, Text Publishing Company, Melbourne, VIC.

IMAGES & VIDEOS:

Parulski, Emily, 2022, Taste of Home, https://www.tasteofhome.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/06/TOH-we-tried-social-nostalgia-popcorn-machine-Emily-Parulski.jpg, popcorn machine review, accessed: 08.08.2022.

Yunupingu, Gurrumul & Kelly, Paul, 2016, Amazing Grace, performed live on Q & A, Mental As, Australian Broadcasting Commission, ABC, Distributed: YouTube, accessed: 15.08.2022.

Archie Roach Covers Bob Marley, ‘Redemption Song/OneLove/Get Up Stand/Up’ for Like a Version, Triple J Radio, (00.00-06.10), (full version), <https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tSj-LFju6Oc&gt;, Archie Roach covers Bob Marley ‘Redemption Song / One Love / Get Up, Stand Up’ for Like A Version, Distributor: YouTube, accessed: 14.08.2022.

Edwards, Jodi Dr.(ed.), 2022, Dharawal: words, Phrases & Activities, Dharawal Publications, Sydney Australia.

ADSR Zine! X

Video: Richard Stalenberg Edit: Riley Jones, 2022.

So thrilled to have been included in ADSR Zine’s archive opening & latest edition! Thankyou!

Sister and speaks of the Monstering. All the actions, our actions that have brought us into the Anthropocene. This short video highlights what Sister GlitterNullius calls, the Digitalocene.

Your Friend, In & Out of Plastix! X

… HOW MUCH CAN ONE MOTHER EARTH TAKE BEFORE THE WOUND IS TOO DEEP?… X

Going Home, 2020, Collaborating Editor: Riley Jones.

As the plastix hits, I weep for us all my children. Please come sit by me… Hold my hand a while…? My heart is wounded and laden. I pray I am not losing faith but I feel an indescribable pull…

As the plastic hits, I feel different… Where can one nun start or finish…? Let’s play a game! How many plastic items can you see in front of you? Behind you? Beside you? Above or under you? On you… In you…?

Your Friend, In & Out of Plastix,

Sister GlitterNullius. X

NAIDOC 2022 Get Up! Stand Up! Show Up!

My absolute gratitude to Ana Kindergarten, the Anatolian community & Aly Trinh for hosting Belonging & Sister GlitterNullius, to celebrate NAIDOC 2022! X

We explored our sense of Belonging in Australia, within our various community groups & asked, how might we strengthen connections between our cultures… Through humour, irony & acknowledging our differences & commonalities, we sought to find practical ways to reach out…

Some of the beautiful frij magnets made by the Belonging group!

I’ve so much gratitude for this group of courageous creatives! Thankyou for having me, the truths, the fun, the laughter & everything you gave to make our Belonging workshop such a success!

Your Friend In & Out of Plastix,

Sister GlitterNullius X

Psalm 23: The 4 Lords Are My Shepherd… X

Juundaal Strang-Yettica, 2020, Internship: Plastic-free Biennale,2020, Lucas Ihlein & Kim Williams in NIRIN, Sydney Biennale, Image: Micky Quick & Lucas Ihlein.

Your Friend, in & Out of Plastix,

Sister GlitterNullius X

Deborah Kelly Artist: The Book of CREATION launched!

Image Courtesy: The Book of CREATION, Deborah Kelly, 2022, https://www.creationtheproject.com/.

I have so much gratitude for having my work included within the pages of The Book of CREATION by lead Instigator, Deborah Kelly.

” CREATION is a new religion, manifesting in spectacle and intimacy. A faith, a gathering of intention and purpose with which to face an era when paid opinion trumps environmental evidence. “

” CREATION proposes a crowd-sourced belief system teeming with pleasures and possibilities. “

” CREATION seeks to engage with the dream life of humanity to build ambiguous and beautiful practices of collectivity. It aspires to counter assaults on the biosphere with lateral, joyous, grieving, enraged action. Our era demands preposterous thinking, bold experimentation, leaps and loops and flights of faith.”

” CREATION is at stake.” Deborah Kelly, 2021.

” Built in collaboration with metropolitan and regional communities and institutions, CREATION encompasses mysteries, performance, visual arts, design, dance, food, music and literature. At each gathering site, artform-specific workshops will be held with local publics. Each workshop series will yield an element of CREATION: a liturgy, parables, a cosmological imaginary, ritual garments, choreography, song, sustenance and ceremony. “

” CREATION is multi-dimensional and cross-disciplinary, moving across and between contemporary art, politics and ritual. The work will entail moving and static imagery, a transcendent soundscape, intimate encounters for learning and exchange, culminating in collaboratively devised participatory performance events. ” (Deborah Kelly, 2021, https://www.creationtheproject.com/about).

Thankyou Deborah Kelly & The Creation Project for including, We Am, Prayer for CREATION by Sister GlitterNullius X.

We Am, Prayer for CREATION: Sister GlitterNullius. X

Creation janabi-nyubari, durun-gul and bahrwa. We welcome our accountability and
responsibility for all Creation’s mamir, as ngadjang-gali .We ganga- that our breath is
your breath, jagul, manyah.

Ganga- welcome our sacred duties are to dismantle and dethrone, linear, hierarchical
ways of jagur epistemology and ontology, the scaffolding of false-beliefs and actions. We banish notions of human entitlement and theft of power over Nature. We gangabahrwa, facing the oppressive, violent structures of thieving, ranking and owning kin,
land, water, fire, air, knowledge and the violence against our non-human janabinyubari and spiritual life.

Simultaneously, Creation’s jarjum and elder, we numbah wandan, aligned with, in and
by Nature’s ngudjal. We bahrwa through Creation ganga-ngidahng to unburden our
knowledge keepers from all unnatural imprisonments and shackles that prevent
teaching and the passing of knowledge as it should be.

Creation’s ngudjal sets them
free to share again.
Jawga our individual and collective allegiance to live peacefully, equally and truthfully
to the benefit of Creation and all natural spirit-kin, in ganga- with our non-human
janabi-nyubari. Urgently and gently, together we enact our universal numbah toward
Creation’s nurturing reciprocal ngudjal.


In the truth of this natural reciprocity, we refocus and relearn protocols of Creation, of
equal respect, non-violence, noticing, restoring and protecting natural balances. In our
realignment with the patterns of Creation we undertake and prioritise, healing the
interactions between all natural systems and numbah the balance of their sacred,
rightful belonging.

In these processes of realignment and protection, Creation calls
upon our artists and other truth-tellers to apply their calling, to identify, interpret, share
the truths and challenges before us.
Let all our prayers be for all.

Your Friend, In & Out Of Plastix,

Sister GlitterNullius X

Yugambeh-Bundjalung Words


Bahrwa – arrive, arise, emerge, come through, wake up into sight or existence, come
up, come out.
Durun-gul – be calm.
Ganga- – know, hear, think, consider, smell, sense, hope, learn, suppose, believe,
wonder, muse, worry about, meditate, understand.
Jagul – native land.
Jagur – stranger.
Janabi-nyubari – family.
Jawga – send, let, permit, give up, release, let go.
Mamir – life.
Manyah – native country.
Ngadjang-gali – elder, spirit-being, powerful.
Ngidahng – brave, daring, courage.
Ngudjal – spiritual blessing, strength.
Numbah – come back, return.
Wandan – strong. (Middle Clarence River NSW

Your Friend, In & Out of Plastix,

Juundaal. X

BCM 110 Assignment 3: Reference List & Bibliography

Blog 5 of 5: Reference List & Bibliography: Blogs 1-4

Reference List

Alighieri, Dante, 1320, The Divine Comedy, Hutchins, Robert M, Editor-in-Chief, The University of Chicago (ed.) Advisory Board, Encyclopaedia Britannica, published, 1952, UK.

Aruguete, Mara S; Gillen, Meghan M; McCutchen, Lynn E & Bernstein, Michael J, 2020, Disconnection from nature & interest in mass media, Applied Environmental Education & Communication, Vol.19:4, p.363-374, online journal, Routledge: Taylor & Francis Group, London.

Bell, Christopher, 2015, Bring on the female superheroes!, TEDx, Colorado Springs, Distribution: http://www.ted.com.

Britton, Ronald, 2015, Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein: what made the monster monstrous?, The Journal of Analytical Psychology, Vol.60:1, p.1-11, accessed: 23.04.2022.

Bruno, David; Wilson, Meredith, (eds.), 2002, Inscribed Landscapes, Making & Making Place, University of Hawaii Press, Hawaii, USA.

Cinnamon, Jonathan, 2017, Social Injustice in Surveillance Capitalism, Surveillance & Society, Vol.15, Iss.5, p.609-625, accessed: 04.05.2022.

Cunningham, Stuart, 2014, Policy & Regulation in Cunningham S & Turnbull S (eds.), 2014, The Media & Communications in Australia, 4th Edition, Allen & Unwin, Aust.

Edwards, Dustin W, 2020, Digital Rhetoric on a Damaged Planet: Storying Digital Damage as Inventive Response to the Anthropocene, Rhetoric Review, Vol.30:1, p.59-72, https://www-tandfonline-com.ezproxy.uow.edu.au/doi/pdf/10.1080/07350198.2019.1690372.

Falkof, Nicky, 2020, On Moral Panic – Some Directions for Further Development; Critical Sociology, 2020, Vol.46(2), p.225-239, accessed:22.04.2022.

Gergan, Mabel; Smith, Sara; Vasudevan, Pavithra, 2020, Earth beyond repair: Race & apocalypse in collective imagination; Environment & Planning D: Society & Space, Vol.38:1, p.91-110,https://journals-sagepub-com.ezproxy.uow.edu.au/doi/full/10.1177/0263775818756079.

Hall, Stuart, 1997, The Work of Representation, Chp.1, p.1-51, The Spectacle of the Other, Chp.4, p.223-277; in Representation: Cultural Representations & Signifying Practices, Sage in association: The Open University, England.

Hammond, Kim, 2004, Monsters of modernity: Frankenstein & modern environmentalism, Cultural Geographies, Iss.11, p.181-198, School of Geography & the Environment, University of Oxford England. 

Haraway, Donna, 2010, When Species Meet: staying with the trouble, Environmental & Planning D: Society & Space, 2010, Vol.28, p..53-55, Pion Ltd., London.

Haraway, Donna, 2016, Staying With the Trouble: Making Kin in the Chthulucene, Duke University Press.

Haraway, Donna, 2018, Staying with the Trouble for Multispecies Environmental Justice, Dialogues in Human Geography, Vol.8(1), p.102-105, Sage Publications, UK.

hooks, bell, 1992 & 2014, Black Looks: Race & Representation, 1st & 2nd. Ed, Routledge, New York, USA. 

Kelly, Deborah, 2022, The Book of CREATION, https://www.creationtheproject.com/liturgy, Griffith University Art Museum, Griffith University, Brisbane QLD, Aust.

Langton, Marcia, 2002, Sensual Inscriptions, The Edge of the Sacred: The Edge of Death, in Bruno, David; Wilson, Meredith, (eds.), 2002, Inscribed Landscapes: Making & Making Place, University of Hawaii Press, Hawaii.

Latour, Bruno; Stengers, Isabelle; Tsing Anna; Bubandt, Nils; 2018; Anthropologists are Talking About Capitalism, Ecology & Apocalypse; Ethnos: Journal of Anthropology, Vol.83, Iss.3, accessed: 23.05.2022-20.06.2022.

Lidberg, Johan, 2019, The Distortion of the Australian public sphere: media ownership concentration in Australia, Australian Quarterly, Vol.90, Iss.1, Jan-March, p.12-20.

Lyon, David, 2002, Everyday Surveillance: Personal Data & Social Classifications; Information, Communication & Society, Iss.5, No.2, p.242-257, Taylor & Francis.

Lu, Kevin Dr, 2021, Carl Jung & the Archetypes, The Weekend University, Distribution: YouTube: Carl Jung and the Archetypes – Dr Kevin Lu, PhD, The Weekend University, US.

Moreton-Robinson, Aileen (ed.), 2004, Whitening Race: Essays in social & cultural criticism, Aboriginal Studies Press, Canberra, ACT.

Norman, Sara Jane, 2021, Liturgy of the Saprophyte, The Book of CREATION, 2022, Lead Artist, Deborah Kelly, https://www.creationtheproject.com/liturgy, Griffith University Art Museum, Griffith University, Brisbane QLD, Aust.

Orlowski, Jeff (dir.) & Rhodes, Larissa (prod.), 2020, The Social Dilemma,  Production: Exposure Labs, Argent Pictures & The Space Program, Documentary/Docudrama, 94:00mins, Distribution: Netflix, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uaaC57tcci0, accessed: 15.03.2022-04.04.2022.

Pontes, Halley M, 2017, Social networking disorder: Investigating the differential effects of social networking addiction & internet gaming disorder for psychological health, Journal of Behavioural Addictions, AK Journals, Vol.6, Iss.4, p.601-610.

Solove, Daniel J, 2021, The myth of the privacy paradox, George Washington University ,Law Faculty & Other Works Publications, L. Rev. 89, 2021:1.

Sunstein, Cass R, 2000, Deliberative Trouble: Why Groups Go to Extremes, Chicago Unbound, Journal Articles, Faculty Scholarship, University of Chicago Law School, US.

Tan, Cenk, 2021, A Jungian & Nietzschean Approach to Todd Phillips’ Joker, Litera: Journal of Language, Literature & Culture Studies, Vol.31, Iss.1, 23.06.2021, Istanbul University Press, accessed: 15-22.06.2022.

Todd, Zoe, 2015, Indigenising the Anthropocene, Art in the Anthropocene: encounters among aesthetics, politics, environments & epistemologies, Open Humanities Press.

Tsing, Anna Lowenhaupt; Bubandt, Nils; Gan, Elaine; Swanson, Heather Anne, 2017, Arts of Living on a Damaged Planet: Ghosts & Monsters of the Anthropocene, University of Minnesota Press, USA.

Yunkaporta, Tyson, 2019, sand talk, Text Publishing Company, Melbourne, VIC.

Zuboff, Shoshana, 2019, Surveillance Capitalism & the Challenge of Collective Action; New Labor Forum, Vol.28(1), p.10-29; The Murphy Institute, City University of New York, New York, NY.

Bibliography

Beyer C; Bockwold JC; Hammer EL & Potzsch, 2019, Seeing (With, Through & As) Monsters: An Introduction to the Special Issue, Nordit, Septentrio, UIT, accessed: 15.06.2022-22.06.2022.

Bruno David; Barker, Bryce; McNiven, Ian J, (eds.), 2006, The Social Archaeology of Australian Indigenous Societies, Aboriginal Studies Press, Australian Institute of Aboriginal & Torres Strait Islander Studies, Canberra, ACT.

Delaney, Lori, 2019, Comics vs Climate Change: Who is the Most Eco-Friendly Superhero? Eco-Age: The Eco-Living Archive, eco-age.com, https://eco-age.com/resources/comics-vs-climate-change-who-most-eco-friendly-superhero/, accessed: 17.06.2022-21.06.2022.

Fell, Elana & Lukianova, Natalia, 2018, Arts of Living on a Dying Planet: Ghosts & Monsters of the Anthropocene, The Philosophical Quarterly, Vol.68, no.272, p.632-634.

Fiske, John & Jenkins, Henry, 2010, Introduction to Communication Studies, 3rd.ed., p.80-86 & p.157-169, Routledge, London.

Mansfield, Nick; Fensham, Rachel; Threadgold, Terry; Tulloch, John, 2000, Subjectivity: Theories of the self from Freud to Haraway, Routledge, London.

McGowan, Andrew, 2019, Superhero Ecologies: An Environmental Reading of Contemporary Superhero Cinema, Honours Project: Student Scholarship & Creative Work, Bowdoin College, Bowdoin Creative Commons, US.

Puc, Reed G, 2021, Lifeglows Through the Anthropocene: Development of the Radical Imagination & Response-Ability Within Superhero Comics; Graduate Student Thesis, Dissertations & Professional Papers: Graduate School, ScholarWorks at University Montana, US.

Turnbull, Sue, Imagining the audience, in Cunningham S & Turner T (eds), The Media & Communications in Australia, 3rd. Ed, Allen & Unwin, Crows Nest, Aust.

Images & Videos

Blog 1: Image: Strang-Yettica, Juundaal, 2020, Sister GlitterNullius Mugshots, taken with my Samsung Galaxy Ultra 20, mobile phone.

Blog 1: Image: Yes Magazine, 2013, 13 Climate Justice Leaders Imagined as Comic Superheroes, https://www.yesmagazine.org/environment/2018/04/21/13-climate-justice-leaders-imagined-as-comic-superheroes, Image: Patricia Espinosa Cantellano, Executive Secretary: United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, Art: Pia Guerra, https://www.yesmagazine.org/wp-content/uploads/imports/252ec017e074450c89e991efec353b2a.jpg.

Blog 2 Video: Strang-Yettica, 2020, The Transformation of Sister GlitterNullius, Editor: Jesse Tyssen, (01.48), Samsung Galaxy Ultra 20.

Blog 2 Video: Phillips, Todd, (Dir./Prod.), 2019, Joker, JOKER – Final Trailer – Now Playing In Theatres, Warner Bros, US, Distribution: YouTube, accessed: 18-20.06.2022.

Blog 3 Video: The Amazing World of Gumball | Computer AI Absorbs Humanity | Cartoon Network The Amazing World of Gumball, Computer AI Absorbs Humanity, 2018, (00.00-03.14), Cartoon Network UK, Distribution: YouTube, accessed: 17-18.06.2022.

Blog 3: Video: The Wachowskis, 1999, The Matrix Official Trailer #1, Distribution: YouTube, accessed: 18.06.2022, The Matrix, 1999, Lana & Lilly Wachowski, (Dirs.), Joel Silver (Prod.), Warner Bros & Village Roadshow, (2hrs 16mins). Image: https://cdn.onebauer.media/one/empire-tmdb/films/603/images, accessed: 20.06.2022. The Matrix: The Matrix (1999) Official Trailer #1 – Sci-Fi Action Movie

Blog 4 Image: Norman, Sara Jane, 2021, Liturgy of the Saprophyte, The Book of CREATION, 2022, Lead Artist, Deborah Kelly, https://www.creationtheproject.com/liturgy, Griffith University Art Museum, Griffith University, Brisbane QLD, Aust, https://www.creationtheproject.com/liturgy, accessed: 21.06.2022.

Blog 4 Video: Strang-Yettica, Juundaal, 2020, The Birth of Sister GlitterNullius (2:00), experimental video with my phone, Editor: Jesse Tyssen, https://youtu.be/-djWGGjgfbk, During Internship: “Plastic Free Biennale”, Lucas Ihlein and Kim Williams (2020) in NIRIN, the 22nd Biennale of Sydney, 2020.

BCM 110 Assignment 3: End Reference List

Your Friend, In & Out of Plastix,

Juundaal Strang-Yettica #8801112

Shhh… the monster speaks the truth…the nun confesses!… Sister GlitterNullius’ Confession. X

Image: Kelly, Deborah, Norman, Sara Jane, 2021, Liturgy of the Saprophyte, Liturgy Cards for The Book of CREATION, 2022, Lead Artist, Deborah Kelly, https://www.creationtheproject.com/liturgy, Griffith University Art Museum, Griffith University, Brisbane QLD, Aust, https://www.creationtheproject.com/liturgy, accessed: 21.06.2022.

BCM 110 Assignment 3 Title: Sister GlitterNullius: conceptualising the monstering through representation and the gaze of the Other.

Blog 4 of 5: Solutions & Outcomes

Put aside your fear of me and let me be a warning, not your panic (Falkof, 2018).

Here, I am empathy, your empathy. 

I offer you, we, human and non, comfort. 

I invite that we pray for our non-human community, for our actions that are the sins we commit against Nature, and subsequently against ourselves (Bruno & Wilson, 2002; Hammond 2004; Haraway, 2010, 2016, 2018; Kelly, 2022; Langton, 2002;  Norman, 2022; Todd, 2015; Tsing et al, 2017; Yunkaporta, 2019).

In urgent prayer, we monsters invite that, we become the constant knowing of truth allowing our prayers and actions be simultaneous, and that we remember the truth we forget. Raise yourself to face the Sun, the Moon and all of Nature’s creations as I invite you to reshape, re-contextualise all that we know and do (Hammond 2004; Haraway, 2010, 2016, 2018; Kelly, 2022; Norman, 2022; Todd, 2015; Tsing et al, 2017).

Collaborate, to the survival needs of the Natural environment. For, We Am (Bruno & Wilson, 2002; Hammond 2004; Haraway, 2010, 2016, 2018; Kelly, 2022; Langton, 2002; Norman, 2022; Todd, 2015; Tsing et al, 2017; Yunkaporta, 2019).

Hear me, my children… From monster to superhero, I dare cross the threshold by way of offering you my confession (Alighieri, 1320; Hammond 2004; Kelly, 2022; Norman, 2022; 2015).

I confess to all the Natural alignments of Nature’s creation and our Ancestors, that I am the consequence. I am the inevitable, obvious outcome. I confess I am the unavoidable messenger (Alighieri, 1320, Bruno & Wilson, 2002; Hammond 2004; Haraway, 2010, 2016, 2018, Kelly, 2022, Langton, 2002; Norman, 2022; Todd, 2015; Tsing et al, 2017; Yunkaporta, 2019).

I confess that I am a sinner. 

A liar, thief, consumer-murderer, failure and hypocrite. I declare here, my incongruence with Nature’s Ancestry and I live, yet still, a testament to the original intention for my humanity and all encompassing power and resilience of that same Ancestry (Alighieri, 1320; Hammond 2004; Haraway, 2010, 2016, 2018; Kelly, 2022; Langton, 2002; Norman, 2022; Tsing et al, 2017; Yunkaporta, 2019).

I confess that I am the corrupted innocent-sinner, a relic of imperialist hierarchies and an ancient child of Saltwater, borne into the Anthropocene. I err severely, often and will reoffend, repeatedly (Alighieri, 1320, Bruno & Wilson, 2002; Hammond 2004; Haraway, 2010, 2016, 2018, Kelly, 2022, Langton, 2002; Norman, 2022; Todd, 2015; Tsing et al, 2017; Yunkaporta, 2019).

For all these and more, I am trully sorry and am not worthy of forgiveness. This is my confession of my colonised humanity and the undertaking of my monstrosity to devote my existence to the plight of all Nature’s beings, micro-organism to mountain (Alighieri, 1320, Bruno & Wilson, 2002; Hammond 2004; Haraway, 2010, 2016, 2018, Kelly, 2022, Norman, 2022; Todd, 2015; Tsing et al, 2017). 

This my equality.

Truth, I am a monster. Simultaneous truth, I am not a monster (Hammond 2004; Haraway, 2010, 2016, 2018, Kelly, 2022; Norman, 2022; Tsing et al, 2017).

I am you. We am. We all am, human and non-human, equal. 

Simultaneous final truth, we-human must be the healing. A circle, end at the beginning (Bruno & Wilson, 2002; Hammond 2004; Haraway, 2010, 2016, 2018, Kelly, 2022, Langton, 2002; Norman, 2022; Todd, 2015; Tsing et al, 2017; Yunkaporta, 2019). 

Strang-Yettica, Juundaal, 2020, The Birth of Sister GlitterNullius, (00.00-2.01), Internship: Lucas Ihlein & Kim Williams, Plastic-free Biennale, 2020, NIRIN, Sydney Biennale, 2020.

Your Friend, In & Out of Plastix,

Sister GlitterNullius. X

Guns don’t kill, mass media doesn’t kill – people kill but a little less entitlement wouldn’t kill either…Perhaps a little dash more of human responsibility wouldn’t hurt either… X

The Amazing World of Gumball, Computer AI Absorbs Humanity, 2018, (00.00-03.14), Cartoon Network UK, Distribution: YouTube, accessed: 17-18.06.2022.

BCM 110 Assignment 3: Title: Sister GlitterNullius: conceptualising the monstering through representation and the gaze of the Other. 

Blog 3 of 5: Types of Monstering: 

Welcome back my children! Get out your fangs and your big person pants! We are going to take a bite from my monstering concept! 

The way I have come to understand how I was created is something I call, monstering. Monstering is the every-single-thing that leads up to an outcome that is, to the benefit of humans at the detriment of Nature. Monstering is any and all individual, community, social, organisational, national and international belief, policy, philosophy, law, social structure, behaviour or action that prioritises the needs and wants of some humans above others in Nature, be they human or non-human. Your consumerism is part of the monstering, every purchase in plastic, every like on social media, the list goes on and on (Aruguete et al, 2020, Britton, 2015; Edwards 2020; Hammond, 2004; Haraway, 2010, 2016, 2018; Orlowski, 2020; Pontes, 2017; Sunstein, 2000; Tsing et al, 2017; Zuboff, 2019).

Monstering stems from and maintains the hierarchical social structures of power, of colonialism, capitalism, consumerism and christianity. That is, any socio-political, socio-religious structure that colonises and destructively harvests from nature causing extinction, to benefit the few. That might include media ownership laws that block truths and allow a few to control our access to a variety of points of view. Monstering also includes the harvesting of meta-data, creating digital profiles of mass media users and narrowing their thought-worlds by feeding back algorithmic selections, closing down people’s exposure to thought diversity. In effect, as consumers of mass media, it’s eating us, we’re eating it and ultimately eating digital versions of ourselves. This looks more like a type of digital cannibalism but capitalism and its fat cats are the only ones getting fat. The digitalocene! This is not a symbiotic relationship folks (Cunningham, 2014; Latour et al, 2018; Lidburg, 2019; Lyon, 2002; Orlowski, 2020; Solove, 2021; Sunstein, 2000; Zuboff, 2019).

Oh my children! I haven’t even started on the contributions of fossil fuels, agriculture, micro-plastix, human trafficking, cyborgs, all the isms, like sexism or the control of humans by artificial intelligence … time and space do not permit (Edwards, 2020; Haraway, 2010, 2016, 2018; Latour et al, 2018; Tsing et al, 2017). The point I am attempting to reach with you, about monstering behaviours, is that there is an underlying truth that requires urgent individual and collective shifts in our capitalist-consumerist social structure, beliefs and behaviours (Edwards, 2020; Haraway, 2010, 2016, 2018 ;Latour et al, 2018; Tsing et al, 2017). The truth is that we live in the geological era called the Anthropocene. The earth, its plants, organisms, animals and environments are being polluted or extincted by one monstering species, humans. Only humans have the ability and response-Ability to change this (Edwards, 2020; Hammond, 2004; Haraway, 2010, 2016, 2018; Latour et al, 2018; Todd, 2015; Tsing et al, 2017).

The truth is that we are monstering ourselves and all of the rest of nature into an all encompassing prison of environmental demise (Edwards, 2020; Hammond, 2004; Haraway, 2010, 2016, 2018; Latour et al, 2018; Todd, 2015; Tsing et al, 2017). I think the 1999 film, The Matrix is about prisons and truth and our acceptance, rejections or intersections with it. The truth is not always an easy pill to swallow and it may even threaten the comfort of your denial, your reality and your truth.

I’ll leave you with The Matrix (1999) and ask you, tell the truth about your contribution to the monstering…

Film: The Matrix Official Trailer #1, Distribution: YouTube, accessed: 18.06.2022, The Matrix, 1999, Lana & Lilly Wachowski, (Dirs.), Joel Silver (Prod.), Warner Bros & Village Roadshow, (2hrs 16mins).

Your Friend, In & Out of Plastix,

Sister GlitterNullius. X