Our Lullabies: An Ode to Mother's Tongue

Our Lullabies: An Ode to Mother’s Tongue is a multi-sensory installation by Jes R. R. Alexander that seeks to honour the lullaby as a living repository of cultural memory. Through song, the lullaby creates space for human connection: an exchange between generations, cultures, and the past and present. Our Lullabies: An Ode to Mother’s Tongue invites immersion—to pause, sit, listen, and reflect on both the songs of others and the song of our own.

By sharing the lullabies of diverse communities across the Illawarra—voices that carry the lived experiences and cultural histories of residents—the work prompts reflection on belonging, displacement, and the strength of cultural memory. Through this intimate experience, visitors are offered the opportunity to participate in an act of radical tenderness—an embodied gesture of resistance, remembrance, and cultural continuity.

This film was produced by BE Studios (www.bestudios.org) at Shoalhaven Regional Gallery on Yuin Country in Nowra as part of the gallery's Women in Art program in 2025.

For more information about the work or to get in touch, head to www.jes-rr-alexander.com

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Jes R. R. Alexander is an interdisciplinary artist, community arts and cultural development producer, and art therapist of Sicilian and Anglo-Celtic heritage. Her practice harnesses the transformative power of art for healing and connection, exploring themes of nostalgia, lineage, and yearning. Jes was a 2023 resident artist at Wollongong City Council’s Creative Studios and a 2024 resident at Villa R in Sicily. Jes is also the co-founder and co-director of PALAVA, a female-led arts collective, and a Lead Creative Producer at Beyond Empathy, an award-winning community arts organization.