Sea State

Photography, Soundscape, Site-Specific Installation

Years: 2022 - 2024

Place: Westernport Bay / Wurnmarrinh, Salton Sea / Ancient Lake Cahuilla

Country: Bunurong and Boonwurrung, Torrez Martinez Cahuilla

Presented by: Bombay Beach Biennale (2022), Drift Arts Festival (2023), Bombay Beach Biennale (2024)

An independent work by Janenne Willis (photography, field recordings and site specific installation) featuring Tilman Robinson (sound design), Geoffrey Watson × Rosie Sayers (costumes) and Sacha Guggenheimer × Uma Neave × Hinetera Marino (breathers). Photography credit: Janenne Willis and Bri Horne. Videography credit: Janenne Willis, Sam Ashton-Jones and Curtis Hill.

Sea State is a three-part work that breathes life from one body of water (Westernport Bay / Wurnmarrinh) to another (Salton Sea / Ancient Lake Cahuilla).

Part One was presented at the 2022 Bombay Beach Biennale in the backyard of a house on the edge of civilization on the shores of the Salton Sea. It breathed life from the biodiverse Westernport Bay / Wurnmarrinh in Australia to the receding Salton Sea / Ancient Lake Cahuilla in the United States.

Part Two was a reciprocation. Presented in the backyard of a house in a tranquil seaside village on the shores of Westernport Bay. It invited the receding Salton Sea to breathe life back, in return.

Part Three brings Part One and Two together in a soaring call to reanimate our seas and ourselves. This offering sees the meeting of both photographic surveys, all installation elements and layers spoken word into the multi channel soundscape. This installation was first presented at the 2024 Bombay Beach Biennale and has since lived permanently at Bombay Beach in California. The outdoor gallery is in the backyard of 2115 Second St, Bombay Beach. The golden temple tank is on the beach at the end of the Aisle of Palms. Soundcape via QR code when in situ.

An imagining of radical empathy between bodies of water.