Through documentation of performative fieldwork, creative writing, and participatory practice, Wild Country explores the historical, cultural, and social importance of the Ovens River and its tributaries. With its impressive granite rocks and majestic river red gums, the river network is picturesque, making it a much-loved recreational site for camping, swimming, paddling, and fishing. Yet historical and current-day ecological impacts through mining, agriculture, and climate change have indelibly altered its landscape.
Wild County will tease out the complex political, social, cultural, economic, and ecological history of the river and what it means to us as a community.
This project was supported by RMIT University’s career reignite funding.
Clare McCracken and Heather Hesterman, Wild Country: All that is lost and sometimes found, 2024. Photo by Andrew Ferris.