Dr Greg Pritchard decided in 2020 that he would endeavour to travel the length of the Murrumbidgee River - from Pepper's Hill in the Kosciuszko National Park to Boundary Bend where it meets the Murray River.

The 'Scorpion's Tail', as he calls the 1485km journey, has provided the artist with the perfect stimulus for a social and environmental history that utilises his PhD in ecocriticism.

"The plan is for it to be an installation of photographs, video interviews and soundscapes," he said.

"At the moment I'm trying to spend as much time on the river as possible."

While tapping away at the exhibition, which is set to be on display at the M16 Gallery in Canberra during May this year, Mr Pritchard also hopes to adopt his findings into a book - a megaproject that he said is keeping him very busy.

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"Living in Wagga, I've spent a lot of time on Murrumbidgee, and I used to live in Leeton and did some canoeing out there," he said.

"I also lived in Talbingo as a kid which is on the Tumut River which is a part of the Murrumbidgee system, and I just started to get really interested in it."

With much of his pre-existing work dealing with environmental issues, he hopes Marrambidya: Riding the Scorpion's Tail will draw more attention to one of the country's largest rivers.

"I hope people can get a greater sense of what the important river [the Murrumbidgee] is to Australia, and certainly to New South Wales," he said.

"Whilst there's been a lot of focus on the problems with Murray Darling Basin, The Murrumbidgee, which is technically the healthiest river in that system, gets forgotten a bit."

Mr Pritchard is eager to speak to those who frequent the river about their thoughts and experiences to contribute to his work - from swimmers, canoers and campers to water CEOs.

Those interested can contact him through his project's website: https://drgregpritchard.wixsite.com/scorpionstail

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