TARUN
Tarun (2020) was shot during an extended residency in Baker’s mother's birthplace - a Bidayǔh village in Sarawak, Malaysian Borneo. Moving through banana plantations, jungles and rivers, the artist narrates her mother’s migration story in broken, halting Bidayǔh. Tarun reflects on the complexities and impossibilities of language continuance and cultural survival in the face of capitalist colonialism in Sarawak.
Tarun was commissioned by Prototype, an e-newsletter of experimental video art & short film, curated by Lauren Carroll Harris. Tarun was a finalist in the 2020 Fishers Ghost Art Award.
This project was assisted by The Freedman Foundation Travelling Scholarship for Emerging
Artists. The program is administered by the National Association for the Visual Arts (NAVA).
Artwork details:
digital video, 15:38 minutes
Tarun, 2020, still from video
Tarun, 2020, still from video
Tarun, 2020, still from video
Tarun, 2020, still from video
Prototype Conversations: Tiyan Baker from The Capitol — RMIT University on Vimeo.
I live and work on the lands of the Awabakal and Worimi people.
This sovereign land was never ceded.
The land I live on always was and always will be Aboriginal land.