Touch this earth lightly

986 people across Australia have had their feet wrapped in clay spoken about their attachment to place, their connection to the natural environment, and their feet.

Touch this earth lightly started in the Hunter Valley NSW in 2009 when it was proposed to dam the Williams River. Antagonism between those for and those against the proposal was palpable in the streets and undermined community life. I was living and working in the area. Not from or of, I didn’t want to speak out, but I did want to explore and share people’s stories of belonging and attachment to place. I started wrapping people’s feet in clay and recording their stories. It was like a bundle of entwined ropes. As I sat at a person’s feet massing oil into them, wrapping them in gauze, and then the cool clay; I was loosening a thread. Stories emerged, voices soft at first, then gathering strength and momentum. Stories often full of childhood memories, camping, bushwalking, playing in the mud and rivers; memories of rituals both public and private, and the solace of the natural world, scored on the feet and minds of individuals.

For 10 years, I roamed Australia seeking out places of difference. I worked in fits and starts as I didn’t want to seek funding that would colour the way in which people perceived the project. People would ask me, “is a mining company paying for community engagement? Are you a greenie?” Residencies provided a neutral place to set up a base and resources to help with firing the shoes. I have collected 986 pairs of clay shoes and stories. Installations have taken place in vacant shops, galleries, a museum, in a custom-made black box within a basketball court - as part of a festival. I stopped making in 2019, full of stories, emotions, ideas, and a far deeper understanding of connection to place.

I am working on a book as the next stage of this project. A book about belonging and art, about people and places.