'It is often said that the human gaze creates the concept of landscape, that it is a ‘man made’ construct. Rather, I would like to propose that the natural environment, ‘landscape’, creates what we understand of being human. That is to say, the way we make sense of the world and ourselves is largely determined by the world itself.'
Artist Statement
Mapping the geographical environment helps explain the visible and tangible world, my works are an attempt to map the experiential journey and the geographical space as one. The memory of place is intrinsically bound up with the experience of being in that place, relationship and attachment to place is as powerful as our relationship and attachment to family and friends.
It is often said that the human gaze creates the concept of landscape, that it is a ‘man made’ construct. Rather, I would like to propose that the natural environment, ‘landscape’, creates what we understand of being human. That is to say, the way we make sense of the world and ourselves is largely determined by the world itself.
My work aims to map the corporeal and emotional memory of place, experience, and relationship. I am exploring the questions: Is it possible to map an emotional journey at the same time as a mapping a remembered physical journey? How are the two experiences connected and what does that look like in a single image? They began as a response to a six day bush walk that I completed with my sisters along the Larapinta Trail in Central Australia in May2021 and have evolved from that point.
Time is a key factor, this is evident in the way mapping process reflects events or time periods, and the physical duration of time taken to create the works.
The starting point is drawings of locations made from memory. The initial drawings on paper are worked over by erasing, re-working, tearing, folding, overlaying of materials. These processes can be understood as having similarities with quilting or dressmaking. I want these images to have a deliberate ‘feminine’ or ‘handmade’ quality. The stitches can be read as literal threads or ties binding the persons to the place and to each other.They are also metaphors for steps taken through the landscape.
My work is informed by ecofeminist philosophy in which the social status of women and the status of the environment are inter connected, for example to work of Val Plumwood and others.
However, these works are intensely personal as much as they have a basis in feminist and philosophical constructs. What began as a response to a specific family experience, has grown into a broader mapping and responding to a wide range of personal and family events, with connection to landscape always at the core.
Artist Bio
I am an Australian artist currently living and working inOrange New South Wales. I grew up in Papua New Guinea and various locations inAustralia. These early experiences of location and connection to the natural world continue to inform my creative work.
Artist Statement
Mapping the geographical environment helps explain the visible and tangible world, my works are an attempt to map the experiential journey and the geographical space as one. The memory of place is intrinsically bound up with the experience of being in that place, relationship and attachment to place is as powerful as our relationship and attachment to family and friends.
It is often said that the human gaze creates the concept of landscape, that it is a ‘man made’ construct. Rather, I would like to propose that the natural environment, ‘landscape’, creates what we understand of being human. That is to say, the way we make sense of the world and ourselves is largely determined by the world itself.
My work aims to map the corporeal and emotional memory of place, experience, and relationship. I am exploring the questions: Is it possible to map an emotional journey at the same time as a mapping a remembered physical journey? How are the two experiences connected and what does that look like in a single image? They began as a response to a six day bush walk that I completed with my sisters along the Larapinta Trail in Central Australia in May2021 and have evolved from that point.
Time is a key factor, this is evident in the way mapping process reflects events or time periods, and the physical duration of time taken to create the works.
The starting point is drawings of locations made from memory. The initial drawings on paper are worked over by erasing, re-working, tearing, folding, overlaying of materials. These processes can be understood as having similarities with quilting or dressmaking. I want these images to have a deliberate ‘feminine’ or ‘handmade’ quality. The stitches can be read as literal threads or ties binding the persons to the place and to each other.They are also metaphors for steps taken through the landscape.
My work is informed by ecofeminist philosophy in which the social status of women and the status of the environment are inter connected, for example to work of Val Plumwood and others.
However, these works are intensely personal as much as they have a basis in feminist and philosophical constructs. What began as a response to a specific family experience, has grown into a broader mapping and responding to a wide range of personal and family events, with connection to landscape always at the core.
Artist Bio
I am an Australian artist currently living and working inOrange New South Wales. I grew up in Papua New Guinea and various locations inAustralia. These early experiences of location and connection to the natural world continue to inform my creative work.
