Where I come from, the birds dance to their own beat

BACKGROUND Where I come from the birds dance to their own beat contributes to the field of sustainable art practices. A key figure in this area is sculptor/installation artist Fiona Hall who exploits the aesthetic and conceptual potency of recycled materials to bring attention to environmental degradation and the fraught political relationship culture has with nature. CONTRIBUTION Where I come from... likewise critiques consumer culture and draws attention to degradation of the environment through the use of recycled bottle caps, timber and umbrella stands to create animal- and plant-shaped lagerphones that symbolically reinstate the natural environment, while also engaging with notions of cultural hybridity. I ask, How might used materials be repurposed to critique environmental degradation while simultaneously facilitating cross cultural dialogue? The quintessential Australian bush-band instrument is reimagined as a totem of Lithuanian flora or fauna. Archaic animist narratives from the Baltic are presented through a cotemporary antipodean lens creating a bridge between the two cultures, particularly when activated in performances by the Melbourne-based Lithuanian folk-singing group, The Lost Clog (of which I am a member). The bottle caps offer a very visible measure of consumption while also encouraging viewers to look anew at and re-consider the possibilities within items they might normally consign to the bin. SIGNIFICANCE The work was exhibited in Modern Myth, curated by Domenica Vavala for Counihan Gallery, the latter being included in the list of approved venues in recognition of its peer review process and standing amongst contemporary arts practitioners. My lagerphones have also appeared on Australian and Lithuanian national television (Spicks and Specks: ABC 21/05/2014 and Ryto suktinis: LRT 19/04/2014).