Geo-Drawings commenced as a site-specific project undertaken in the Vulkathunha-Gammon Ranges in central South Australia during two residencies in 2022 and 2023. Geo-drawing is a mapping process that throws the perception of location and scale into stark relief. Numerous 1:1 scale impressions of the rock strata were made at selected sites using paper prepared with graphite and coloured ink washes, while new arial maps of the region were etched and hand printed back in Victoria using carbon-based inks. The Gammon Ranges is Adnyamathanha Country, and the Adnyamathanha People whose name translates as ‘Rock People’ have been custodians of this region longer than can be conceived of in any western timeframe. This remote region is rich with their culture, geologically extreme and highly biodiverse in its unique flora and fauna. It is a profoundly awe-inspiring location to find yourself in. As a visitor, one becomes acutely aware of one’s own relevance in relation to the palimpsest of stories told and those embedded in the landscape; the ancient land formations - of time itself. These layers of memory and history inevitably confront the psyche - meaning surrounding the present becomes somewhat questioned. As a strategy to navigate an appreciable step towards an understanding, Geo-Drawings are a way to record time, location and scale. Full documentation of the exhibition Limits, in 2024 at Yarta Purtli Cultural Centre SA, in which the Geo-Drawings were first featured, can be found at: benedictsibley.com. The Melbourne version of the exhibition Second Limits, in 2025 at Jacob Hoerner Galleries, can be seen here: jacobhoernergalleries.com
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