LiveStream

Alison Bennett (2026), ‘LiveStream’, site-specific moving-image data-projection on Thomastown Lutheran Church, commissioned by City of Whittlesea for Walking Thomastown. Edgars Creek once supported complex thriving communities of aquatic life. What are our hopes for the future of this precious waterway? This moving-image artwork features native fish species endemic to our region. Thousands of people come together for one night each August along the banks of Edgars Creek in Lalor as part of the annual Walking Thomastown event. This year, visitors experienced larger-than-life encounters with fish looking back at them. As visitors left the path alongside Edgars Creek and climbed the small rise from German Lane towards the historic Thomastown Lutheran Church, they were greeted by images of native fish peering back at them. Artist Alison Bennett captured video footage at Native Fish Australia’s conservation hatchery in Bundoora. “I am delighted by the idea that visitors walking along the banks of Edgars Creek looked up to see gigantic fish looking back at them from the side of the historic church. I used the title ‘LiveStream’ to underline a vision of the creek as a living system with communities of creatures below the surface of the water. Having spent many hours sitting with my camera at Native Fish Australia’s hatchery, I can tell you that they are kind of curious about us!” Jayne Burton, Vice President of Native Fish Australia (Vic) and manager of NFA’s hatchery in Bundoora, explains “because we rarely see native fish when we look at our waterways, they are often forgotten – but they are fundamental to the health of our aquatic environments. These creatures have long called our creeks home and we owe it to them to restore these habitats so they can return.” Malcolm Wrest from Lalor Landcare recalls, “I routinely walked along the banks of Edgars Creek down to Thomastown High School where I studied in the seventies, the last years of the Whitlam Government and the early years of AC/DC. In those days, the creek was paid very scant attention. Today I am still walking the creek, planting trees and advocating for a thriving future for this waterway.” Whilst much of Edgars Creek in Lalor and Thomastown has been covered in concrete, ‘LiveStream’ is a call to the future life of the creek, a mirage that could become a reality.