Angiosperm Affirmations [2021]
22 oil pastel illustrations on paper, 21x26cmPresented on 100m knitted monofilament polythene scrim banners
On display in front of UNSW Red Centre (Jul 2022 - Aug 2023)
‘Angiosperm Affirmations’ is a love letter to feelings that can’t be said out loud. An earlier work on floriography inspired by George Robertson’s 1891 book, ‘The Language of Australian Flowers’, the collection was made during the most recent 2021 four-month Sydney lockdown. This remains an ongoing series as I continue to expand my botany skills. As lockdown turned parks and nature reserves into oases of respite from the litany of emails, videos and calls - isolated pockets of native flora and fungi became the quiet, resolute reminders that this too shall pass. In this series of 22 drawings, our native plants re-affirm the dormant, buried feelings of isolation and detachment as valid and reminds us that after every winter comes spring.
Originally made for Arc @ UNSW A&D’s lockdown ‘Art Mail’ program, my series was the 18th and final weekly edition and was mailed out to over 400 recipients living both locally and internationally. Each recipient recieved 3 randomised flowers and an additional note contemplating lockdown and moving forward. Thankyou to the help of Kieran and Elaine for their tireless work in mailing and delivering these letters.
In July 2022, I was able to work with Sonia Maddock (Head of Culture at UNSW) and Kieran to bring these prints to life on mesh hoarding at UNSW as part of the “H13 Mesh Signage Project”. It was a privelege and honour to be considered for this and to see my work on such a scale was such a shock! I hope to re-use the material once the construction has completed (TBC).
Photo courtesy of Arc @ UNSW Art & Design Chapman [30 August 2022]