Nyctinasty

(2021)

7:54 minute single-channel film.

Curators can request a preview link by emailing hayleymillarbaker@gmail.com

Representing the rhythmic movement of leaves or petals in response to daily shifts in light, Nyctinasty echoes natural acts of self-preservation and survival, symbolising the delicate balance between the physical and spiritual realms. It references both bodily and symbolic practices of caring for the body and spirit after death, creating a vital link between the living and the dead. This ‘in-between’ dimension, where spirits linger and the mind and body connect life, death, and the afterlife, reveals an ongoing thread of communication.

During a moment of solitude at her home, the protagonist prepares for nightfall, when diurnal beings shut down, securing their homes against darkness and nocturnal threats. She bathes, tends the fire, and applies charcoal to her skin, symbolic acts emphasising the cyclical unity of life and death, drawing from traditional Aboriginal practices. In this context, death is portrayed not as an end but as a continuation within the spiritual realm, reflecting a timeless connection to ancestral wisdom and spiritual continuity. 

Nyctinasty explores female power and strength, moving away from the horror genre’s focus on women's psychosis. The Indigenous female body is depicted not as a victim, but as a vessel carrying a present-day practice of magic and spirituality rooted in millennia of tradition. The protagonist moves confidently through her familiar domestic space, in tune with her surroundings, physically and psychologically, open and unafraid.

Through Nyctinasty, the merging of ritual and narrative transforms ordinary acts into sacred ceremonies, linking us with our ancestral past and creating a reflective space where the spiritual and the worldly coexist in the ethereal. Solitude becomes a pathway to deeper connections with guiding, protecting, and haunting spirits.

Commissioned by the National Gallery of Australia, Kamberri/Canberra for the 4th National Indigenous Art Triennial: Ceremony curated by Hetti Perkins with the support of Kerry Gardner AM and Andrew Myer AM, and the Australian Government through the Australia Council for the Arts, its arts funding and advisory body.