Cirrus@Austlit

'This [essay] uses the beach in relation to the Solitary Islands to consider the intimacy of sensuous geographies active in the landscapes of the coast. As spaces of nurture, refuge and the practice of everyday life, sensuous geographies are relevant to the place-making experiences of exile (forced, self-imposed, psychic and existential). The practice of space contingent to place-making in this manner turns upon embodied knowledge, the immediacy of experience, lucid reverie and the familiarity of the everyday. The status of the beach as a cultural icon, embodied en masse in summer holidays and ritualised throughout life stages has become embedded in the national psyche of Australia. The beach resonates with the notion of 'landscapes of exile' in complex and ambiguous ways that deserve critical examination. This becomes apparent in the context of negotiations concerning the entanglement of nature and culture, settler and indigenous culture and the ethics of belonging. These come into sharp relief through an ecological reading of space, place and region.'

Source: Landscapes of Exile conference website, http://www.scu.edu.au/research/cpsj/landscapesofexiles/abstracts2.html#KimSatchel Sighted: 31/10/08.