Drums and cello might seem like an unusual instrumental duo.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
Canberrans will have a chance to hear how they sound together at Canberra Museum and Gallery on June 4, 2021, on the eve of World Environment Day.
Tina Havelock Stevens - a post-punk drummer and documentary filmmaker with a 30-year career - will be performing with her long-time musical collaborator, cellist Liberty Kerr at the exhibition HABITAT: Ways of Living.
The exhibition features works by artists from Canberra and around Australia - including Havelock Stevens, Alex Asch, Miriam Charlie, Sean Davey and Natalie Rosin.
This will be Havelock Stevens' first time exhibiting in Canberra and her second time performing here.
"I was there with Sonic Youth back in the '90s with the band Crow," she says.
HABITAT reveals ways of living in a variety of environments, from high-rise apartments, to suburban subdivisions and locations where communities have collapsed. These artists reveal how the built environment responds to, and is influenced by, circumstance
As well as music, Havelock Stevens is a filmmaker whose documentaries on teenagers and Australian nationalism have been shown on SBS.
She produces photos, video installations and video stills documenting her art practice, consisting of solo drumming in experiential or immersive environments. At CMAG is a video and imagery she produced in Detroit, a US city that has descended from prosperity into violence and urban decay.
Lest people fear that at CMAG, the stringed instrument will be overcome by the sound of percussion, Havelock Stevens assures us the cello will "definitely be amplified".
Nor does she plan to hold back.
"I will be hitting my drums with sticks not brushes. There's a lot of power involved," she says.
The two - Kerr classically trained, Havelock Stevens self-taught - met 30 years ago when both were playing in bands. Together, their music evolved into what Havelock Stevens describes as an improvised mix of post-rock with some jazz influence.
They also make up two-thirds of the post-rock group The Mumps, with bass player Adele Pickvance. Because the three live in different cities - Havelock Stevens in Sydney, Kerr in Moruya and Pickvance in Adelaide; collaborations, whether as a duo or a trio, are irregular.
COVID-19 didn't help; Havelock Stevens and Kerr have not played together since February 2019 in Sydney, but the drummer is confident there won't be a problem with them reuniting to perform after the long break.
"We read each other telepathically," she says.
The live performance at Habitat: Ways of living is on at Canberra Museum and Gallery, June 4 at 6pm. Admission $10. Food is included (with vegan options) and drinks for sale. Bookings essential at Eventbrite. The exhibition continues until June 14.