"HOMILY TO COUNTRY", NGV TRIENNIAL, 2020

JR presents his new monumental artwork « Homily to Country, 2020 » at the NGV Triennial (Melbourne, Australia).

The ambitious multi-part artwork echoes JR’s project Homily to country, that draws global attention to the ecological decline of the Darling River system caused by intensive water extraction due to irrigation, climate change and drought.

The work comprises three key elements. First, a film combining portrait photography and documentary footage, plus footage of JR undertaking field research. Then, an architectural installation, envisaged as an open-air chapel in the NGV Grollo Equiset Garden, featuring a series of large-scale stained glass windows depicting super-sized portraits and environmental elements such as the Darling River’s dying river red gums. The third element is a performative event, a procession that took place at Lake Cawndilla, near Menindee (Australia), on February 27th, 2021.