In December 2005 there was a riot in Cronulla, New South Wales. This put the Sutherland Shire on the international map, causing shock and heartache for Australians across the country. JUNK THEORY was a forward-looking response to the shock and hurt in the community that aimed to prove it's harder to hurt someone when you know their story.

Throughout 2006 Big hART and young people met regularly, listening to each other's stories, listening to others in the community, helping to encourage understanding, respect and empathy. They worked with photographers, filmmakers, composers, older residents, shipwrights, seafarers, local business and over 35 local community organisations to re-examine the world and each other in a new light. This created a strong picture of life in the Sutherland Shire and the result was a new floating multimedia work for the 2007 Sydney Festival called JUNK THEORY.

In 2008, Big hART was invited to present the work at the Adelaide Bank Festival of the Arts on the River Torrens and in 2009 opened the Ten Days on the Island Festival in Tasmania at Constitution Dock, Hobart with Wei Zen Ho performing live from on top of the junk's wheelhouse.