Wona Bae and Charlie Lawler's 'Primary Succession' Imagines Life After Ecological Rupture

Artists Wona Bae (South Korea) and Charlie Lawler (Australia) have opened 'Primary Succession,' an immersive exhibition at Walker Street Gallery and Arts Centre in Dandenong, Victoria, running until 15 August 2026. The show speculates on a future ecology emerging after climate crisis-induced rupture, drawing on the ecological process of primary succession—life slowly restarting after disturbances like lava flows or glacial retreat. The exhibition unfolds across two gallery spaces and includes a satellite public artwork, 'Field of Future Ecologies,' in Harmony Square: a glass cube installation that evolves over time, featuring reflective pools, crystalline organisms, sound, and light, shifting from day to night in timed intervals. Lawler describes it as a 'hyper-saline landscape' that is visible and accessible 24/7 yet physically unreachable—a world humans can observe but not enter. The second gallery functions as a field station with field guides, glossary terms, species studies, and climate notes, preparing viewers for the speculative world. Bae emphasizes the work is not didactic but an emotional and sensory encounter with a landscape in transition, where collapse and regeneration coexist. Lawler notes that art is always part of ecological systems, made from materials, labor, energy, and relationships. The exhibition is open Wednesday to Saturday, 11am–3pm.