| Description |
SAYES ARARE
A poetic composition of kustom, ancestral songs, stories and
everyday life. Chambri Lakes, Middle Sepik, Papua New Guinea.
Sayes Arare is sacred ground music played on bamboo (mambu) flutes and garamut (slit log) drums from the Chambri Lakes in the Middle Sepik region of PNG. Sayes Arare connects the environment and the spiritual world and reflects on the relationship between the two: the spirit world and everyday village life, and the environment in which both aspects dwell.
Sayes Arare as a project is a multichannel video and sound work collaboration between composer David Bridie and video artist Keith Deverell that documents the rhythms, textures, people, dance and sounds of the Changriman Village. At the centre of the work is the Arare , traditional flute players who hold the stories of the village in their haunting songs: sacred music telling important custom stories from the Chambri Lakes region. Over three separate trips to the Middle Sepik region, David and Keith recorded
the flute players, village sounds and waterways to capture the essence of a unique way of life that stems from the lake, the jungle and the sounds of the Arare. The resulting work will paint a unique sensorial portrait of the people, the sounds and the story of Changriman Village.
We aim to complete this project by now entering the post-production stage of the work. This will involve visual and audio editing, mixing and mastering, and optimisation for exhibition. The intention is to complete this final stage of the project within the next 6 months, with a view to presenting the work at galleries and festivals in 2021.
Our goal is to present a work that is wholly engaging, a sensory experience that immerses the audience in place. We will present a collaborative work between artists of different practices, that promotes a healthy level of artistic and cultural engagement with our closest neighbours in PNG. In this work we strive to educate audiences about the cultural and spiritual practice and daily life of this unique part of our region, as told through the music, stories and custom of those who inhabit it. David Bridie has long worked in collaboration with Pius Wasi through music recordings, soundtracks and live performances for over 30 years, and has collaborated with Keith Deverell previously on the A Bit Na Ta audio-visual installation, which has screened in Melbourne, Brisbane, Kaohsiung (Taiwan), Port Moresby and Rabaul.
Sayes Arare is an extension on those artistic relationships, created with strong input and consultation from village elders and community members.
Source: Wantok Musik Foundation
(David Bridie & Steven Gagau, June 2025)
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