The Promised Land Refigured

Jill Orr’s The Promised Land Refigured builds on Orr’s previous Promised Land project, created in 2012, with new insights that have emerged in the past eleven years. The original series centred around a slot-together, life-size, skeletal boat that does not float. Performed in sites around St Kilda, including Station and Princes Piers, sites of migrant arrival, and along the Yarra River, the entry point for colonial expansion, The Promised Land ruminated on the diverse history and impact of those arriving on these shores by boat.

This new series, a sculptural and photographic installation, explores a new wave of movement by sea. Framed by the impact of Australia’s policy of turning back asylum seekers who arrive by boat, The Promised Land Refigured engages with the anticipated issue of global homelessness, due to the outcomes of mass destruction of homes and environments resulting from climate change.