The Sparrow and the Iron Wolf

Research Background Between 1947 and 1971, over 300,000 migrants passed through the Bonegilla Migrant Reception Centre. Displaced Persons from the Baltics spearheaded the wave of post-war immigration, marketed as the especially coined ‘New Australians’. With the 75th anniversary commemorations of the Bonegilla Migrant Experience comes a renewed scholarly interest in these early postcolonial exiles and the Baltic diaspora’s contribution to Australian culture. Coinciding with the Bonegilla commemorations, the National Archives of Australia and the Immigration Museum in Melbourne coordinated a series of events titled “From the Baltic to the Pacific”. Research Contribution The Sparrow and the Iron Wolf offers an autoethnographic exploration of my hybrid cultural identity and the legacy of resourcefulness that I inherited as the daughter of Lithuanian refugees. The solo exhibition comprised lagerphones from recycled materials in the shape of Baltic nature motifs, artist books from print ephemera exploring Baltic mythology and themes of migration and transformation, and photographic portraits exploring Lithuanian-Australian otherness through the figure of the female werewolf. Video works, featuring Melbourne-Lithuanian folk group, The Lost Clog, activating the largerphones in bushland settings, were also shown, alongside extensive, illustrated didactics providing educational insights into processes and concepts. The exhibition consolidated diverse streams of my practice in a poetic reimagining of Lithuanian traditions, showcasing the contribution of diaspora communities in uncovering unique possibilities for environmentally sustainable art practices. Research Significance The exhibition was commissioned by respected regional gallery, Albury Library Museum, to form part of the Bonegilla Migrant Experience 75th anniversary commemorative celebrations.