ubertas et fidelitas, digital still 2020

Sharifah Emalia Al-Gadrie and Tilley Wood 

Good Grief Studios, Hobart, TAS

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This performance work takes its name from the motto on Tasmania's traditional coat of arms, ubertas et fidelitas which translates to 'fertility and faithfulness'. It is a dedication to the inception of our friendship and this friendship as an example of the broader nature of feminine friendships. Practically, these relationships rely on cultivation and nurture to maintain them, rather than biological dependency. Two individuals are tethered to one another because of the connection they care for and uphold, despite having no other faithfulness to one another beforehand. The resulting relationship can become an immense source of fertility (in personal growth, creativity, culture and education etc) for the individuals who develop it. 

We met in Tasmania, though neither of us were born in this state. By recontextualising and repurposing the words from this state's disused coat of arms; we subvert the colonialist institution to serve a contemporary 4th wave feminist arts practice and hope to speak to the broader agenda of many within our generation.