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First Lights – Kooranup

Yabini Kickett, Ilona McGuire, Tyrown Waigana, Cass Lynch
3 Nov & 4 Nov, 10 Nov & 11 Nov, 17 Nov & 18 Nov
Bathers Beach, Fremantle, Attadale Reserve, Attadale
Army Groyne (Army Jetty Road), Rottnest Island

Ilona McGuire: Kooranup is the place beyond the horizon and past Moombaki, where the water meets the sky. It is the heavenly shore located in the far west – our spirit's final resting place in the Noongar Nyitting (Dreaming).
The Fremantle Biennale’s acclaimed drone light and sound experience, First Lights, returns in 2023 with Kooranup, a sequel to the stories shared through Moombaki in 2021. This epic spectacle of light, movement and sound will again transform the night sky with 160 drones taking flight over the stage of the bilya (river) and wardan (ocean).

Pioneering new technology and artistic practices to share ancient knowledge, Koornaup will reveal the first stories of place across three weekends and three locations. Revealed will be a series of connected stories by artists Yabini Kickett, Cass Lynch, Tyrown Waigana, and Ilona McGuire, guided by Whadjuk Nyoongar Traditional Owners.
On the first weekend, as the saltwater laps at the shores of Bathers Beach, Tyrown Waigana brings to life a witty reflection of an ancient story of ancestral beings and an epic battle that shaped our coastline.
On the expansive grounds at the river edge, Yabini Kickett’s offering calls us to attention within the natural landscape; from the echoing sounds of wind in the sheoaks to chirping frogs of the bilya (river), this is a story of kinship, interconnectedness and transformation.
The last chapter will unfold across the ocean, on Wadjemup (Rottnest Island), with a collective offering, led by Ilona McGuire and writer Cass Lynch. This closing chapter offers a space for deep contemplation across land and water, weaving together the many stories across time, both beautiful and heartbreaking, that are held by the island.
Come, sit by the water, share in the ancient and living stories of Kooranup.

Co-presented with City of Fremantle, City of Melville and Rottnest Island Authority.
Artists: Yabini Kickett, Cass Lynch, Ilona McGuire and Tyrown Waigana.
Whadjuk Cultural Advisory Group: Aurora Abraham, Len Collard, Walter McGuire Jnr, Ezra Jacobs-Smith and Glenys Yarran.
Composers: Thalia Skopellos, Ned Beckley, Josh Hogan
Narrator: Jayden Boundry
Sound Design: Envelope Audio
Animation: Jarrad Russell
Technical Partner: Stellar Lights

This is not the Kooranup show itself, but the crowd waiting to see it. Roel Looper's photograph is an artwork in its own right.

References and Links

Photograph of the audience courtesy of Roel Loopers.

SIGNALS 23 website.

Freotopia

This page incorporates material from Garry Gillard's Freotopia website, that he started in 2014 and the contents of which he donated to Wikimedia Australia in 2024. The content was originally created on 4 November, 2023 and hosted at freotopia.org/arts/biennale2023/kooranup.html (it was last updated on 12 November, 2023), and has been edited since it was imported here (see page history). The donated data is also preserved in the Internet Archive's collection.