AN EXHIBITION BY
JEANTI ST CLAIR and RAIMOND DE WEERDT
with Elise Derwin, Rebecca Ryan, Dannielle Pickford and Sarah Moran
SERPENTINE GALLERY, 104 CONWAY STREET, LISMORE
FEBRUARY 24 - MARCH 18, 2023
Opening Friday February 24, 5pm
Rescue is supported and funded by the NSW Government through Create NSW, and by Arts Northern Rivers, Resilient Lismore and the Foundation for Rural Regional Renewal.
Rescue: stories and portraits of civilian rescuers from the February 2022 flood
Rescue is a collection of the stories and photographic portraits of people involved in the heroic civilian rescue operation during the 2022 Northern Rivers floods. Individuals took it upon themselves to get into their boats, jet skis, canoes and blow-up boats to rescue residents who were caught out by the floods.
The Rescue project was created to ensure the stories and names of these civilian rescuers will not be forgotten, as their vital role prevented death and injury. There is much we can learn from their stories.
The first iteration of this project was an exhibition for the first anniversary of the flood, in part as a tool for community healing and to publicly recognise the many people who aided others. The project is available as touring exhibition and a book of portraits and extended stories is planned.
Who's Behind the Project
Raimond de Weerdt is a photographer who has been working with communities for the last 20 years as part of Facing Australia.
Jeanti St Clair is a storycatcher, a journalist, a documentary and audio walk producer, and media academic. She is the creator of Lismore Flood Stories.
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Portraits by Raimond de Weerdt. Stories caught and crafted by Jeanti St Clair.
The Lismore exhibition also featured documentary photographs of the rescue efforts from Elise Derwin, a Love for Lismore heart banner by Rebecca Ryan and a compiled list of rescuer names, as gathered by Flood Diaries' Dannielle Pickford and Sarah Moran, presented as part of an installation by Jeanti St Clair.