OFFICIAL OPENING | L U N A R_B I O M E & Leave only footprints

Grafton Regional Gallery invites you to the Official Opening of:

L U N A R_B I O M E: Esk Studio

and

TAMARA DEAN | LEAVE ONLY FOOTPRINTS

Saturday 14 February

3pm | Official Exhibition Opening

Featuring Bundjalung Welcome to Country, guest speakers, and performance by Esk Studio.

L U N A R_B I O M E will be opened by by Glenda MacPhail, a very proud woman whose family lineage is Yaegl-Gumbayngirr-Dunghutti. Glenda is an emerging elder and currently sits on the board as the chairperson of the Yaegl Elders, who are respectfully bringing together truth telling, recognition and understanding of our shared stories. Glenda will also hold undyi ayirri (get up flow) to open the exhibition.

Entry by donation

L U N A R_B I O M E

Bowing down through ancient pulse,

the last lovers left alive…

Cycles eclipse, collapse, re-birth...

The tide of breath that holds.

Bones to stones, the trees in lungs

The dark space of quiet minds.

Carbon devours, in ritual soil

the sacred loops of time.

The Endlings,

gatekeepers of what will be,

forever lovers in death.

L U N A R_B I O M E brings together notions of grief, imagination and play in response to the collective existential reckoning of the times.

Using interactive modes of ritual performance, art, science and education this sequence of work seeks new modes of collective meaning in a rapidly changing climate and its ensuing social uncertainty.

“Our stories are struggling to accommodate the seismic dysphoria of the time. In order to stay resilient and productive we must find the spaces to sit with loss between action, and in process envision new ways of defining narrative.”

This work was developed through a co- creational process by Al Stark, Antoinette O’Brien, Aviva Reed, Jade Dewi Tyas Tunggal and timecodespace.

This project was made possible through support of the Australian Government through Create NSW.

TAMARA DEAN | LEAVE ONLY FOOTPRINTS

‘For as long as I can remember I have yearned to be in nature. When I enter a forest I feel as though I have come home.’

– Tamara Dean

Tamara Dean | Leave only footprints is the first survey exhibition of the critically acclaimed photomedia artist Tamara Dean. Dean’s career began as a photojournalist for the Sydney Morning Herald (2001–14). She was renowned for finding the quieter, more introspective moments between subject and photographer. Dean’s practice transitioned from documentary to conceptual photography after the arrival of her first child. It transformed her practice into one that explores the primacy of nature and our connectedness to it and to each other.

Tamara Dean | Leave only footprints spans over 11 key bodies of work that explore transitional moments in our lives – rites of passage, rituals and motherhood – and is underpinned by the artist’s longing and desire to be within and to protect nature. This immersive exhibition incorporates photography, installation and the moving image to create an environment that engages the senses.

Curator: Anouska Phizacklea, MAPh Director

A Museum of Australian Photography (MAPh) touring exhibition

Images:

Left: Esk Studio, 2025. Courtesy of the artists.

Right: Tamara Dean, The keeper, 2010, from the series This too shall pass. Courtesy of the artist and Michael Reid Gallery (Sydney + Berlin).