RIPAIRIAN ZONE [2025]

Ripairian Zone installation featuring wallpaper by Gemma Ben-Ary, soundscape by Michael Terren, and various works by Vahri McKenzie and Gemma Ben-Ary. Photo Rebecca Mansell.

Ripairian was an interdisciplinary site-specific work presented as an immersive exhibition (and livestreamed performance) in conversation with a site at Mandoon Bilya / Helena River in Perth, Western Australia. Guided by three cues – rubbish, weeds, and graffiti – Vahri McKenzie, Gemma Ben-Ary and Michael Terren respond to ecological and social complexities to reveal a place that’s vulnerable to waste and neglect and that is vibrant and resilient despite this.

Gemma Ben-Ary and Vahri McKenzie. Photo by Josh Wells.

L: Installation view of Gemma Ben-Ary’s weed wallpaper and river objects. Photo Rebecca Mansell. R: Vahri McKenzie, Eco-Ink swatches. Photo by Josh Wells.

Trash Tail installation with en plein air sketches in weed inks by Ripairian Ensemble. Photo Rebecca Mansell.

Read the Exhibition Catalogue here.

Reviews:

• SeeSaw Magazine performance review (Eduardo Cossio)
• Dispatch Review (Annette Peterson)
• Garland Magazine (Annette Peterson)
• SeeSaw Magazine exhibition review (Stephen Bevis)

News:

• Sydney Environment Institute
• ECU Matters
• Art on the Move September newsletter  
• BoorYul-Bah-Bilya Djurrinj Newsletter, Issue 4
• NatureLink Perth September newsletter

Public talks:

• Ripairian: Trash tales and weedy words enlivening shadow places. Storytelling for Lost and Threatened Places: An Environmental Humanities Symposium. Sydney Environment Institute, University of Sydney
• Ripairian: site specific work for self-producing artists. Guest lecture for Bachelor of Performing Arts students, WAAPA, ECU

Supported by:

• WA Government DCITS Arts Projects for Individuals and Groups ($41,109)
• WAAPA Strategic Research Funding ($4000)
• Midland Junction Arts Centre and online gallery
• Bibbul Ngarma Aboriginal Association and BoorYul-Bah-Bilya