SAMMY HAWKER

Ghost Bells exhibiting on the bed of a suite at the Hyatt Hotel.

ARI BANAL(E) brought together 6 artist-run spaces into the lavish rooms of The Hyatt Canberra – the first hotel art fair in Canberra’s very first hotel. Sponsored by Canberra Art Biennial and curated by Sydney-based ARI sydenham international alongside fold projects, Mega, Numbers Peepshow and Sydney Sydney.

Ghost Bells, 2025: This work is a 4x5 photographic negative processed with water from the North Sea, created at the site of the medieval city of Dunwich. Dunwich was lost to storm surges and coastal erosion during the 13th Century. It is said the sound of church bells can still sometimes be heard ringing out from beneath the waves during stormy weather. Co-creating a photograph with ocean water breaks open the frozen moment, corroding and changing the image as a new type of visual logic emerges. This work reflects the notion that water holds memory - the image reflecting mysterious resonances to the sites’ meteorological history. 

Ghost Bells was developed during a partnered residency exchange between Messums Org & The Corridor Project - also supported by Britten Pears Arts, Ian Potter Cultural Trust and artsACT.

ARI BANAL(E) artist run art fair
Saturday 12 September 2026 11-5pm
Hyatt Canberra
120 Commonwealth Ave
Yarralumla ACT 2600

ARI BANAL(E): sydenham international, fold projects, Mega, Numbers Peepshow, Sydney Sydney

fold project artists: Bethany O’Connor, Chin-Jie Melodie Liu, Evangela Lines-Morison, Gabrielle Hall-Lomax, Litia Roko, Lucy Chetcuti, Melissa Howe, Sarah Rodigari, April Phillips, Sammy Hawker