Christian Thompson. 'Berceuse' 2017 (extract)

Three-channel digital colour video, sound 5.47 minutes Sound design: Duane Morrison In this newly commissioned work, Thompson sings a berceuse - a cradle song or lullaby - that combines evocative chanting and electronic elements to invoke the cultural experiences and narratives of his Bidjara culture. Intended as a gesture of re-imagining his traditional Bidjara language, which is been categorised as extinct, the work is premised on the notion that if one word of Bidjara is spoken, or sung in this case, it remains a living language. Thompson makes subtle reference to his maternal Sephardic Jewish roots by ruminating in this work on the lullaby Nani Nani: Lullaby, lullaby The boy wants a lullaby, The mother's son, Who although small will grow. Oh, oh my lady open, Open the door, I come home tired, From ploughing the fields. Oh, I won't open them, You don't come home tired, You’ve just come back, From seeing your new lover. From the exhibition 'Christian Thompson: Ritual Intimacy' at Monash University Museum of Art (MUMA), Melbourne, April - July 2017 © Christian Thompson