In the text, the serpent’s eyes, Dr Romaine Moreton offers a poetic response to Thea Anamara Perkins mural Stockwoman.
the serpent’s eyes
In my ears
Are eyes
The ancient eyes of the serpent
Coiled within this place in my body
The whiteman calls ear
In my ears
Are eyes
Where flesh
And earth laws meet
In this body
Between the eyes
In my ears
Is infinity
For when the eyes move
The ear moves too
And listening, looking
Moves in the same direction
Life
Spirals
Stars
Vibrate
Transcending matter
This body
A carrier of earth law
Is but a moment in infinity
Magnificent
meek
Serpents are waking
Aware, looking
Listening shimmering sensuous
We are here
The serpent says
We are here waiting
For you to wake up
Our Ancestors
Dwell here
Like ancient serpents
That disappear into the crevices of rocks
Sliding into the underground
to Slumber
We hear
Say the Ancients
We are here
Waiting for you to wake up
When the vibration of our Country
Our words
Our sounds
Unify
Tells us it is safe to
Return to the surface
i will again breathe
Through my skin and lungs
Country
i am
Shelter for the serpent
Ancient laws living
In the cavities of my ears
The whiteman calls them
Ear drums
With these drums
We not only listen
We see
Speak
Beat
Vibrate
And shimmer like eternity
There are earth laws
Wrapped tightly in my ears
Ancient eyes of the serpent
Biding its time
Shall return to the surface
And bask in the sun
In the meantime
Know that we are here
Waiting.
Dr Romaine Moreton is Goenpul Yagerabul Minjungbul Bundjalung South Sean Islander (Tanna Island). Romaine is the Director of First Nations & Outreach at the Australian Film Television and Radio School (AFTRS). A writer of poetry, prose, and film, and a philosopher, she has published three collections of poetry, Rimfire (Magabala, 2000), the CD-book Post Me to the Prime Minister (IAD Press, 2004), and Poems from a Homeland (Hatje Cantz, 2012), and directed two short films, The Farm (2009), and The Oysterman (2012). While a Research Fellow Filmmaker in Residence at Monash, she completed the transmedia work One Billion Beats, that examined the historical representation of Aboriginal people in Australian cinema. Prior to that, she was a post-doctoral researcher at the University of Newcastle and worked on a project about Indigenous Cultural Intellectual Property (ICIP and ICIPR) in the digital space. With Dr Lou Bennett, Romaine has been working closely with AFTRS on a first-of-its-kind Indigenous Curriculum for screen and broadcast, focussed through the lens of ethics and aesthetics.
Thea Anamara Perkins, Stockwoman
14 Dec 2022 – 12 Feb 2023
Wed – Sun, 10am – 5pm