The territory in between is an online journal for writing and art about Central Australia.
It aims to ask questions about the territories we mark for ourselves, why and how we do this and what spaces this creates in between.
Founded by a collective of local artists and writers, the journal features the work of regular and guest editors and contributors in themed and un-themed issues.
Territory: the space we mark for ourselves
For the animal kingdom the building, marking and protecting of territory is innate.
Mammals, birds and reptiles all engage in acts of territory marking, whether it be for the purposes of attracting mates, through acts of aggression, or for their own protection (with protection and safety arguably the endgame of aggression).
Male long-nose dragons (Central Arrernte: arlantye) and other native lizards use displays of strength, often bluffed, to guard their territory from competing males. Wedge-tail eagles (irretye) mate for life; the pair claims a vast territory. They patrol their territory in flight and build a huge stick nest, which they renovate each breeding season. Dingoes (artnwere), although often seen alone, hunt and breed in packs. They collectively occupy a territory, usually staying within ten kilometres of a central ‘home’ point. They howl rather than bark but like other dogs and mammals they mark their territory by leaving a smell or trace behind.
Like the animal world that surrounds and includes us, we mark our territory. This claiming of territory manifests both on the individual body or bodies (through dress, movement, language) and the physical spaces (houses, sacred sites town, cities) that those bodies inhabit. The territory claimed or occupied by the individual or group is then marked at a critical distance to the territory of others. These distances or spaces are not measured by metres but rather by certain modes of expressions from which each party acts or returns to.
Here in this Northern Territory, questions of the spaces, the critical distances, we mark around ourselves are ever-present. But from whom and from what do we mark ourselves apart? And what happens in the liminal spaces in between? Can the territory and the spaces in between be shared or collectively occupied? Are the borders ever blurred?
And with this we have set ourselves a challenge – to examine, explore, question and discuss the territories that we mark for ourselves, why and how we do this and what spaces this creates in between. We raise these questions in the physical context from which we live and write, Central Australia; for this unique place with its Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal heritage demands of us certain attention and reflection. However, our words, our images and our stories are taken from our physical place and projected out beyond their immediate territory to the virtual online world, itself an ambiguous, dynamic and changing territory.
Contributions
We invite contributions of all kinds, whether you are a writer of fiction, non-fiction, poetry or prose or an artist in any format whose work can be appreciated in digital form (music, photography and short film being the most obvious forms). Book and film reviews and analysis are as welcome as short stories, poetry and political or social commentary or critique.
For the inaugural issue we invite artists and writers to contribute works that question, interrogate or discuss the premise itself, the territory in between.
Ideally non-fiction or fiction prose will be between 400-2000 words. Poetry can be considerably shorter or be a series of poems. Photography, short film or other digitally accessible artworks can be featured in a variety of formats. Think creatively.
Please email theterritoryinbetween@gmail.com to start a conversation about a work you’d like to submit or for more information about submission guidelines.