Tributaries

West Australian interdisciplinary artist Tineke Van der Eecken’s exhibition, Tributaries, explored the fibres of flora, fauna and human systems and serves as a reminder of the constantly changing states of all organic matter, including our own bodies.

The exhibition included jewellery, small fine metal sculptures, and objects formed by corrosion casting, a process by which resin is injected into animal organs and other biological systems to form moulds of internal spaces. 

These objects were placed in dialogue with photographic images and poetry that documented the thrum of life and death of fragile environmental arterial systems, connecting root, river, skeleton, and vein. Tributaries was both a contemporary memento mori and a testament to the interconnection of human, animal and environment. 

Tributaries shared Van der Eecken’s concern with the degradation of Western Australia’s environment and culture, recognising their complexity and vulnerability.