THE SEA-ER – Esther Tuddenham – Book

Her voice will not be diminished by a society that still struggles with difference and otherness.

— James Hullick about Esther Tuddenham

A poet is always trying to find her own voice, and the voice of the poems she is scribing.

When your voice has been denied, denigrated or not acknowledged, how does it find its way into the world? Where is the space for it to be heard? Who will listen?

Esther Tuddenham has emerged as a poet, musician and photographer through the National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS) sector. The Sea-er therefore stands as testimony to the power of her voice, the necessity of the NDIS mechanism, and the identity of the communities through which she has risen.

There is much mythology in The Sea-er – which speaks like a fairy tale through a fractured narrative of poems and photography: Lilly — a young woman — is asphyxiated in a house fire and resuscitated by a divine paramedic. In that moment she is threaded with the powers of The Sea-er. A great goddess seeks Lilly out and issues her with a task.

I am The Sea-er
I see waves
crashing on the rocks
I see boats
rocking up and down
feeling peaceful calm

(An extract from THE SEA-ER — the final poem in The Sea-er book)

Esther’s personal experiences weave through the tale, which itself stands within a much larger project. The Sea-er is one story within the Epic Topias saga. This Epic consists of sonic theatre performances, albums, books, film, theatre, installations and visual art. Most of the Epic Topias works have been created by sonic and poetic thinker James Hullick — director of Hullick Studios. Several Epic Topias volumes have been authored by other artists: berni m janssen; The Amplified Elephants and others. Epic Topias unravels the escapades of intergalactic beings and a decidedly human Australian family.

Esther’s next challenge will be to convert The Sea-er into a stage production that emphasises the sonic arts. For there is no boundary to the elemental force of Esther Tuddenham.

ESTHER TUDDENHAM BIOGRAPHY
poet / photographer / sound artist / dancer

Esther is a poet, photographer, sound artist, dancer, and intermedia creative mind. Esther explores human emotions and their utterance in her work.

Esther has toured to Japan with The Amplified Elephants for THE HOWLING SOUND (2012), and then to China and Hong Kong with SHHHH and sound artist Nat Grant (2017). Esther has performed in many of the ensemble’s ground breaking shows: THE NIS (2009–); THE MOUNTAIN (2010) both at fortyfivedownstairs; SHHHH (2016–17) at the Meat Market, Melbourne and in Asia; and SELF SEEKERS at Footscray Community Arts Centre for the Festival of Live Art (2018).

Through the ArtLife Program at the Footscray Community Arts Centre Esther has presented a large body of work across more than a decade, with recent productions including HER FOCUS (a group photography exhibition, 2019); ONE OF US (a dance show, 2019); HEART (a group visual art exhibition, 2019), and DANCE CAPTAINS (a dance show, 2018).

This project has been assisted by the Australian Government through the Australia Council, its arts funding and advisory body. This project is supported by the Victorian Government through Creative Victoria.