Ethan O’Brien is an emerging artist, photographer and filmmaker, originally from Echuca. His artistic practice spans painting, illustration, and animation, with a strong focus on filmmaking.

System (2025) is a short film by Ethan, created during his Pump House residency. The film explores intergenerational connections to land and Country in a slice-of-life/documentary format. Ethan follows and interviews Aunty Denise Morgan Bulled, a Yorta Yorta Elder; John Toll and his family, fourth-generation farmers in the Gunbower wetlands; and two local ten-year-olds, his younger brother Harry and Harry’s friend Mac. System reflects on how the river system shapes their daily lives, influences their quality of life and deepens their connection to Country.