Interview with Dharawal Elder and Indigenous Scientist Frances Bodkin

Aunty Frances Bodkin is a D'harawal Elder of the Bidiagal clan of NSW, keeper and educator of Aboriginal knowledge, and respected scientist well known for her dedication to the environment and indigenous culture. She has worked tirelessly to teach Aboriginal science and enable a deeper understanding of how to care for our natural environment. Fran holds degrees in Environmental Science, Geomorphology and Climatology, and is author and illustrator of ‘Encyclopaedia Botanica: The Essential Reference Guide To Native And Exotic Plants In Australia’ (which covers more than 11,000 plants and at the time of publication was the biggest book ever written and illustrated by one person). Fran has also published three books on D'harawal culture, stories and natural resources. She is currently writing a vastly expanded revision of the original encyclopaedia, containing 43,000 species.

Aunty Fran works with groups as young as pre-school age right through to adult learners, sharing ethno-scientific knowledge passed down by traditional clans and which is being increasingly referred to by modern research, in order to promote a deeper understanding of how to care for our natural environment.

The knowledge through her degrees and that which has been passed down through her Aboriginal mother has provided Aunty Fran with a holistic approach to the environment. Fran worked for the NSW Parliament for many years. She is an active member of Wollondilly Aboriginal Advisory Committee. During the 1970s, Fran played a key role in the development of Campbelltown Hospital, Campbelltown TAFE, Mount Annan Botanic Garden (part of the Royal Botanic Gardens) and what is now Campbelltown campus, all of which span a significant part of the Macarthur region in South Western Sydney.

'In 1976 I met and married Gavin who was a Dharawal man, one of the few members of the Nattai clan left, and we had our son. I had a difficult pregnancy and had to spend most of my time in hospital laying flat on my back. When I wrote my first book the 'Encyclopedia Botanica' which was inspired by my love of plants passed on to me by my mother, she taught me all about the different usable properties to their native plants. At the time it was the largest book ever written and illustrated by a single person.

While I was working in parliament, I had this dream of having a botanic garden, a university and a hospital all working together to understand, develop and use the properties of our native plants, so that eventually, people could have their medicine cabinet growing in their gardens. The botanic gardens would have only native plants – we would learn about their medicinal and environmental properties at the university and implement the results of that learning in the hospital. Now we have Campbelltown Hospital, the Universities of Campbelltown campus of UWS and the native botanic garden is the Australian Botanic Gardens at Mount Annan'.

This interview was recorded by Adele Wilkes for Entheogenesis Australis in April 2019 at Thirlmere Lakes National Park (Couridjah), NSW, in the traditional country of the Dharawal and Gundungurra people.

Special thanks to: Aunty Frances Bodkin, Uncle Gavin Andrews, Francis Macindoe and Jonathan Carmichael

Hellenic Museum: Haute Couture in Ancient Greece

In 2018, I was commissioned to direct, design and produce the projection art installation for the Hellenic Museum’s Melbourne Fashion Week event accompanying the exhibition Haute Couture in Ancient Greece: The Spectacular Costumes of Ariadne & Helen of Troy. The animations and imagery were constructed from photographs of original Minoan and Mycenaean artefacts and frescoes.

From the Hellenic Museum - ‘Haute Couture in Ancient Greece: The Spectacular Costumes of Ariadne & Helen of Troy brings to life the magnificent costumes worn by Minoans and Mycenaeans of Bronze Age Greece ca. 2000 to 1200 BCE. As valuable as precious metals, a significant commodity of trade, luxurious in design and decoration, Minoan dress rivalled that of its Near Eastern and Egyptian neighbours. Yet, Aegean costumes and textiles have been among the least understood of the major artistic achievements of the Minoan civilization.’

I Smell the Unicorn

Video art for live performance by Sabina Maselli and Judith Hamann for Channels Festival 2015, exploring the phenomenon of autonomous sensory meridian response (ASMR) and hypnogogic states.

Aarti Jadu

Direction/camera/edit of live performance videos for songs Easwarrama and Tera Nam, and original projection visuals for live performance.

Visuals for live music performance

Created with found footage for live music performances for various artists in Melbourne and Paris.

Aphids: Metaverse Makeovers Level 1 / Hologram Holiday Level 2

A series of live performance installations and site-specific interventions integrating live-video processing and augmented reality enhanced projections. Three works were presented in the hyper-colour environments of beauty salons, saunas, and nail parlours throughout 2011.

Part 2 presented in My Own Private Neon Oasis, curated by the Museum of Brisbane, and published in accompanying book.

Single channel video featured at Sugar Mountain Festival 2012.

Video art: Adele Wilkes

Lead artist/producer: Thea Beaumann

Performer: Shian Law

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