The work is part of sonic investigations of popular and exclusive WA surfing spots by WA
artist Jon Tarry. Interested in the cross-section between sound, video and sculpture, and what happens to these in public spaces, Tarry has turned to investigations of what he has termed ‘spatial power’. Globalised expenses we encounter are increasingly dominating his
practice, but this has also fine-tuned his focus on the local. Recording sounds at three surfing
spots known by the locals and surfing aficionados, Tarry has attempted to bring a semblance
of that experience to an audience in a dry, safe building. The locations he is working with are Deep Six, located at Cottesloe, Huzzas, located close to Gracetown in Margaret River, and Mettams Pool at Trigg. Creating computer coding to map an area, as with Mettams Pool for instance, Tarry uses these ‘drawings’ together with the on-site recordings, and digitally reconstructs the location. He takes us into the surfers’ experience of the spots, but asks: how far from nature are we when we are in nature, and how much in it are we when we are seemingly away from it? The freedom surfers experience and the deep dedication to the ocean and its rules, can both be liberating and dangerous: often the first is possible because of the second. The soundscape that accompanies it, and fine-tunes this experience, is captured and recreated by Tarry. While not a uniquely Western Australia experience, the work references a subject very close to most in WA and reference works like Elise Blumann and Carl Plate.

Jon Tarry has completed 42 public and numerous private art commissions in Australia, the
USA, the Middle East and Europe. These works can be found at Yagan Square, Optus Stadium, Elizabeth Quay, Perth City Link, Kings Park, and Abu Dhabi. Tarry has held solo
shows in Australia, Los Angeles, London and Amman. He has participated in group exhibition
Markers, Artist and Poets at the Venice Biennale of Art in 2001 and Venice Biennale of Architecture 2008, 2010 and 2012 as well as shown work in Malta and elsewhere. Tarry has a PhD in Architecture from RMIT University (2012), was the Visiting Professor to The Chinese University of Hong Kong and is currently an Associate Professor, Faculty of Architecture
Landscape and Visual Art, University of Western Australia. Tarry exhibits with Art Collective WA.