A whale’s lifeless body floats off the coast of Newfoundland’s Fogo Islands. And in Muynak, Uzbekistan, the shell of an abandoned ship rests in the dessert left behind by the receded Aral Sea. With meditative attention, across two screens, artist Patty Chang bathes the whale’s body and scrubs the ship’s hull. By performing these rituals of care to the non-human entities, Chang purifies their bodies for the next stage of their life cycles.

This work was curated by Olivia Koh as part of the hearts of the people are bigger than the size of the land, RISING 2021. This program was specific to Melbourne CBD Chinatown’s cultural and political history and made by artists and curators of Asian diaspora. See recess.net.au for full program