Issue 9: The Botanical Issue by Sandra Conte

THE BOTANICAL ISSUE Edition #9 ~ MAY 2016 — NOVEMBER 2016 www.facebook.com/Earthemag www.earth-emag.com

Bell’s Biennale Embassy Richard Bell, descendent of the Kamilaroi, Kooma, Jiman, Gurang Gurang Peoples, Embassy, 2013-2016, pitched on the manicured lawns of the forecourt of the Museum of Contemporary Art Australia, is the recommended starting point when taking in the 20th Biennale of Sydney (20BOS).

Classified by 20BOS curation as an ‘In-Between Space’, the site-specific nature of the work is potent in its strategic geographic placement around the location of the First Fleet arrival taking of the land of the Gadigal people of the Eora Nation. The topic of dispossession and displacement is central to Bell’s Embassy series of talks with leaders such as Wiradjuri woman Jenny Munro. Together, they recounted the halcyon days of Redfern as a strong base for Aboriginal activism, out of which came the Aboriginal Tent Embassy of Canberra, founded in 1972 in peaceful protest against a court decision over mining operations on Aboriginal land. The Canberra Tent Embassy is now a heritage

listed landmark for Aboriginal protest and the nation’s longest standing site of political ‘agitation’, Bell’s 20BOS Embassy provides the safe space for dialogue to flow in callingout Australia’s misrepresented history. Bell’s truth is in his statement that he is, “an activist parading as an artist”[1]; a cultural warrior and provocateur, Bell’s agenda with art to break through the taught fictions of Australian history is being achieved with each and every iteration of Embassy. While clearly not a botanical artist in the theme of this edition, his people’s protest for protection of the land over arches generations and is ongoing. Bell, with his solid rock of ancestry on which to stand with the wisdom of Elders espouses from long oral traditions as to how the continent of Australia was before white man came, where it should be now and how to get there, making his art true to the 20BOS theme of ‘The future is already here, it’s just not evenly distributed’.

Quick Facts:

Richard Bell’s Embassy 2013-ongoing, installation formed part of the 5th Moscow Biennale, 2013; Bell received the Australia Council Visual Arts Award in 2016 and his sculpture project opens in Arnhem Netherlands in June at Sonsbeek 2016. 20BOS runs until June 5, 2016 1 Daniel Browning, ‘Decolonising now: The activism of Richard Bell’, in Richard Bell: Lessons on Etiquette and Manners, Monash University Art Museum, Melbourne, 2013, p. 23

Top and Far Left: Richard Bell, enters Embassy 20132016, Canvas Tent with annexe, aluminium frame, rope and projection screen, installation view, Museum of Contemporary Art Forecourt, 20th Biennale of Sydney 2016, Left: Richard Bell and Jenny Munro in conversation as a part of series of talks within Richard Bell’s Embassy, 2013-2016. Photos S. Conte.

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The Fernery, Royal Botanic Garden Sydney,

is cleverly curated with didactics referencing rock and roll from Gaga to heavy metal, all around the ferns.

Positively

Botanical

n keeping with our botanical theme, Dane Mitchell of Aotearoa/NZ presents as part of 20BOS, across two spaces, the In-Between Space of the Royal Botanic Garden Sydney and the Embassy of Spirits - Art Gallery of New South Wales. His installation entitled Remedy for Agoraphobia (AgNO3), 2016 was created for the 20th Biennale of Sydney. Sited near Palm Grove, Royal Botanic Garden Sydney, the installation is mystical and experiential, gently drawing the viewer and unsuspecting walkers in with subtle, low-lying clumps of fog rising above the plant life as if clouds. Created with the assistance of a homeopathic practitioner, the work connects to a large vat embedded in the garden and releasing into the air a socalled remedy for agoraphobia (the irrational fear of open spaces) produced from a silver compound. Mitchellâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s premise is to investigate

The Fernery, Royal Botanic Garden Sydney, permanent didactics, Photos S. Conte. Dane Mitchell, artist in conversation with the public at his 20BOS installation Remedy for Agoraphobia (AgNO3), 2016, homeopathic remedy, bulk liquid containers, ultrasonic vaporiser, water pumps, fittings dimensions variable, (Container 100mm x 1000mm x 110 mm & ultrasonic vaporiser 300 mm x 300mm x 300mm) Courtesy the artist: Hopkinson Mossman, Auckland and RaebervonStenglin, Zurich, Royal Botanic Garden Sydney, Photo. S. Conte.

whether the plant responds to or processes this. Indeed, it poses the question of where the plant and human world overlap and respond to each other, which for now, is in that In-Between Space of the Royal Botanic Garden Sydney as part of the 20BOS.

Quick Facts on Royal Botanic Garden Sydney, turning 200 in 2016: The botanical work of Margaret Flockton and Joseph Lycett is being highlighted as part of the 200th birthday celebrations, check out the What on eARTh? section along with details of the installation barrangal dyara (skin and bone), by Jonathan Jones.

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Living Sculptures

amie North’s elegant and monumental floor, at a scale to do it justice. sculptures are often site-specific and The cover installation photograph by Brooke integrate native plant life. The artist’s Holm captures that scale (with the tallest in 20th Biennale of Sydney installation the sculpture series standing five metres high) entitled Succession, 2016, incorporates and a gaze of reverence from the Mother Cissus antarctica or kangaroo grape and and Child viewers. The image also implies a Ficus rubiginosa or Port Jackson Fig. Both regeneration of Federation Court, a former species are highly resilient with a propensity sculpture garden at NGV International. to annexe and overtake environments, as Embedding pandorea pandorea, a vine native can be compared to the Andy Goldsworthy to the Melbourne area with a recycled slag Strangler Cairn, 2011 installed in Conondale constructed core, a National Park, sculptural statement (Queensland, North’s clever employment of a is effected of the Australia) where tenacity of nature concrete system for growing native the intent is for and its resilience over the strangler plants is no doubt informed by his waste, destruction fig planting to combined exposure to a Newcastle and decay. North’s subsume and, clever employment of industrial city back-ground, balanced unlike North’s a concrete system for by a bush-filled childhood. works, ultimately growing native plants destroy the is no doubt informed sculpture. by his combined exposure to a Newcastle North’s man-made sculptural components, industrial city background, balanced by a are formed from industrial by-products bush-filled childhood. His experience of worked through an involved artistic process observing, cultivating and communing with to present as if organic or volcanic, providing plants has moulded an articulate artist who polished shelter for the plant species. speaks learnedly on plant intelligence and the desire to expand on such.* As an artist of Artistic inspiration comes to Jamie North, monumental sculptures made habitable for naturally. Khao Sok National Park in plant life through shape-shifting industrial Southern Thailand, cloaked in the world’s by-product, North’s work is a showcase of oldest evergreen rainforest and framed botanical resilience obviating slippages into with grandiose, perpendicular, limestone the cracks of extinction. mountains informs his Rock Melt 2015, as seen on the cover and opposite page’. As *http://www.ngv.vic.gov.au/multimedia/ a commission for temporal installation in interview-with-jamie-north/ Federation Court, NGV (National Gallery of Victoria) International, North responded www.jamienorth.com to every aspect of the site, its context of verticality and light along with the angled grey bluestone walls, columns and gridded

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[

Jamie North, Succession, 2016, Embassy of Disappearance, Carriageworks, Redfern, Sydney, Australia, 20th Biennale of Sydney. Photo: S. Conte.

Jamie North, Rock melt, 2015, Federation Court, NGV International, Photo: Brooke Holm © Jamie North, courtesy of Sarah Cottier Gallery, Sydney.

BROOKE HOLM, whose work graces this and the cover page, is an Australian photographer who traverses dramatic landscapes, conceptual still-life and considered interiors. Working across editorial, commercial and fine art projects, Holm’s defining attention to detail is a result of her unique eye for art direction and composition. Holm’s work is recognisable for its clarity and distinct depth of emotion as found in her photographic Arctic series, exploring the unique landscape of the northern most region of the world. On an expedition that started in search of beauty, silence and isolation, Holm discovered more than just a visually arresting natural environment. There was an obvious fragility to the North that awakened an inner desire to protect it. Holm’s work reveals the Arctic’s rare aesthetic in an effort to raise awareness, not only of its existence, but also of the prevailing impact of a changing climate. Holm’s Series showcased in a 2015 Solo Exhibition entitled ‘Arctic’ at Koskela, Sydney. www.koskela.com.au www.brookeholm.com.au

Brooke Holm by Brooke Holm Photographer; Vasahalvøya from the Arctic series Photograph, Brooke Holm.

A wonder-wall of flowers at the Garland Stage, Woodford Folk Festival 2015/16, Photo: S. Conte.

Signposts

Salute Richard Bell

Highlights Dane Mitchell

Cover Story Jamie North

View from eARTh

Profile Işık Güner

Contribution Dr Tamsin Kerr on Corrie Wright

Review

Woodfordia

Residency

Sandra Conte

eARThy Kids Sally Gabori

What on eARTh?

Take Two

Projects underway

30-Something Lucila Dominguez

Back Story Michael McIntyre

Producer’s Column

Annual events

Emma Theyers, Julie Cane

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Anne Harris, Béatrice Prost

Disclaimer eARTh e-mag is an online publication produced by Conte Creative Concepts showcasing earth-inspired art from around the globe. Content of eARTh e-mag is subject to copyright. Reproduction in whole or in part without written permission of the e-mag Producer, team or relevant contributors is prohibited. Views expressed in eARTh e-mag are not necessarily those of the Producer or core team. The publication of editorial or advertisement does not necessarily constitute an endorsement of views or opinions expressed and the Producer does not accept responsibility for statements made by advertisers or contributors.

T Sandra Conte, Producer eARTh e-mag, back image Caroline Numina Acknowledgements: eARTh e-mag acknowledges the traditional custodians on whose land we walk, live, work and play. Producer Sandra, extends thanks to Rachael Meader for graphic design engagement in this publication and all artists involved. A special thanks to Dr Tamsin Kerr of the Cooroora Institute for her exquisitely composed contribution. attributions Front cover: Jamie North, Rock melt, 2015, Federation Court, NGV International, Photo: Brooke Holm © Jamie North, courtesy of Sarah Cottier Gallery, Sydney. back cover: Michael McIntyre, Extinct Markers, 2016 Sculpture at Scenic World, Image: Keith Maxwell.

Bush Medicine Leaves works by various artists, Numina sisters and Margaret Turner Petyarre. Photo: S Conte.

his third birthday, botanically-themed edition of eARTh e-mag kicks off with a visit to the 20th Biennale of Sydney* (20BOS) Vernissage, a preview of Australia’s largest contemporary arts festival which opened to the public on March 18, running through to June 5, 2016. Providing opportunity to cover the inspirational work of Richard Bell and this edition’s cover story artist, Jamie North, 20BOS set eARTh on the path for highlighting the Biennale and focussing on botany in this edition. Segueing with stories of artists exhibiting in the Royal Botanic Garden Sydney and with Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh, and those emanating from Turkey and Argentina, to name but a few countries involved, the global reach of eARTh e-mag remains palpable. As reported in previous issues, in the interests of sustainability, eARTh e-mag has been pared back in size and regularity but remains a goodwill e-mag, being free to the reader and online only (no trees harmed) to present twice-yearly as a well-pruned 25 pages. Edition #9 blooms with stories, imagery and is social media active to be responsive to enquiries and promote topics around story requests. eARTh e-mag is about the intersect of art and environment and there are more amazing artists producing at this convergence point than can be covered. The Numina Sisters, (nieces to the seven famous painting sisters Petyarre), of remote Australia, are one such example,

their canvases achieving both mesmerising and perhaps therapeutic effect on the viewer around the subject matter of bush medicine leaves. The sum of the stories in eARTh e-mag edition #9 brings a diverse account of environmentally conscious art which is connected to, but does not necessarily adhere to the tenets of botanical illustration and art. For now, please make time to take tea, made from botanical goodness, and e-flip through eARTh #9 to enjoy the true tales of artists embracing the environment. Yours in eARTh Sandi Conte www.facebook.com/Earthemag

*Sandra Conte’s coverage of the 20th Biennale of Sydney Vernissage was supported by the Regional Arts Development Fund, a Queensland Government and Moreton Bay Regional Council partnership to support local arts and culture in regional Queensland.

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The Insights of Işık Plants have effectively transported botanical artist, Işık Güner, from her home in Turkey to Edinburgh, Chile, Kathmandu and China. Immersed in a whirlwind of art engagements, research, publications, collections, preparatory sketches, formal painting, exhibitions, education workshops, awareness raising and awards, there is an ever-increasing demand for her stunning work. Three of Işık’s many projects are here highlighted, ranging from the 2007 project start towards the 2015 publication of Plants from the Woods and the Forest of the Chile to the 2016 ‘The Beauty of Orchids’ art exhibition and the 2015-2016 Nepal Project, which entailed workshops in Kathmandu and is culminating in an exhibition. During that time, Işık, has also taken out several high ranking awards.

Plants from the Woods and the Forest of the Chile, 2015 A single volume publication of high quality botanical art, presenting the beauty and diversity of Chilean forests where the Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh, Scotland has been engaged in 25 years of research, conversation and initiatives. Containing around 80 unique commissioned water-colour paintings, approximately half are illustrations by Işık, the other artists being Gülnur Ekşi and Hülya Korkmaz. This publication brought Güner, whose surname ironically bears a striking resemblance to the latin name of Gunnera tinctoria or Giant Rhubarb, into full immersion with the plant in order to provide a detailed depiction for the publication. As part of preparations, she travelled to Southern and Central Chile for two months to paint up to 12 different species, while there Işık also taught botanical art students

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Above: Işık Güner, in her new mountain studio in the Northeast of Turkey, where the light is perfect for botanical illustration. Photograph courtesy of the artist. Right: Işık collecting the giant rhubarb Gunnera tinctoria leaf in 2010.

in Puerto Varas and another group in Santiago at the Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile. The 2016 project, ‘The Beauty of the Orchids’ reveals how wild orchids have become a victim of their own beauty; with their species in decline, Işık is involved in building an art exhibition to encourage awareness about the negative impact of overcollecting wild orchids for ornamental use. As part of the Two Dragons initiative, it linked researchers and students between the botanic gardens in the United Kingdom and China.

References: http://www.isikguner.com/eng/chilean_plants http://chileanplants.rbge.org.uk/en/ http://chileanplants.rbge.org.uk/en/ http://dragons-garden.bangor.ac.uk/blog/orchid-art-exhibition-in-xtbg-21519 http://www.isikguner.com/eng/latest_news.html

For the publication Plants from the Woods and the Forest of the Chile, 2015. Below left: detail from Gunnera tinctoria © Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh.

Işık thrilled to receive ‘Best Botanical Painting in Show’ for Gunnera tinctoria RHS Edinburgh art show, 2014.

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The Performance of Moss: Corrie Wright’s site-specific art by Dr Tamsin Kerr, Director, Cooroora Institute In September 2015, Corrie Wright entered the Spicers Sculpture Award with her ephemeral environmental art piece, “Wherever you go, there you are”. It is a small performance of gathered moss shaped into line of bowls along a mostly untrodden path at the bottom of Spicers Tamarind Retreat in Maleny, Queensland, Australia. The site is steep, dank, full of the sound of rushing water from the downhill waterfalls. The path runs near the bottom of the property. The moss bowls are always changing; by the time of these photos in mid December, some have closed over, already overflowing within their own microworlds, others have been removed. More will go over the next few months until all that is left is the memory of the art and many travelling moss spores seeking new habitats. The place remains: a rainforest country, always damp with slippery muddy paths and lush green dankness. A place for human silence and natural solace. Moss is the oldest terrestrial plant, requiring neither roots nor complex structures to survive. It thrives in damp places and creates microhabitats for many other small flora and fauna. A complete and complex beauty emerges when we take the time to kneel and examine these simple plants. Corrie’s work links the lives of moss to that of the Buddhist alms bowl; another humble object that conveys the everyday ritual of non-attachment and gifting. It is the negative space of the bowl that is valuable: able to be filled, open to possibilities. The idea for these moss bowls had taken root the previous year as Corrie sat embroidering a scar in a tree at the same site. Making such a minute work required long sitting and stillness; so, unlike a rolling stone, she began to gather moss, and went on: collecting and researching moss over the following year. Corrie has long been interested in environmental art, in the performance and process of making as much as the product. She has stitched leaves together on her pedal sewing machine

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while talking with the audience who literally give her the power to continue on the attached bicycle. She has camped for days at sites to understand the sense of place before she decides on the artform that best reflects its genius loci. There remains a slight doubt in the minds of both artist and audience as to the value of ephemeral and environmental art. At the initial meetings of artists, Corrie wondered for a moment how she fitted in with artists such as Hew Chee Fong (second prize) or Elli Schlunke (people’s choice) who were making stone and mammoth works, and when she heard she had won, her first thought was how brave the judges, Jude Turner, Christine Ballinger, and Kathleen Hunt, were to make such a choice. But over time, their decision and the work’s validation sits well, not only with the small beauty of the work, but also with the direction we need to take, the paths less travelled. “Sculpture on the Edge” deserves its epithet. Ephemeral art has held a place on the edge of mainstream practice but rarely is brought or valued as public sculpture. Andy Goldsworthy prefers his rainshadow works over his large stone sculptures, but he cannot make a living from such short performances. Art and architecture prizes tend to go to the individual who contributes a monumental heroism to our cityscapes. But this year, Alejandro Aravena won the Pritzker with a community designed affordable housing humble piece and Corrie Wright won the Sculpture on the Edge with an even more lowly gathering and tending of moss. The world is changing, and we are valuing the beauty of the everyday and the ephemeral, the gradual processes of art in nature, and the connections we make in understanding such works. Artists and architects are listening more to the site and its community - human, plant, animal, stone, and water; the resulting partnerships let this more-than-human community speak in its many voices. And by attending such performances of place, however short-lived, we are valuing this connection to the locales we inhabit.

Perhaps the world is unfurling change in the same way as Corrie’s gathering of ever-changing moss? Perhaps hope lies in that alms bowl shape of negative space, in the daily ritual of tending to place? Corrie’s work not only connects us to the everyday wonders of moss, but also inspires us to make our own partnerships with the small worlds that surround us. We might all rebuild such play and ritual in the bottoms of our garden, using moss to dress the wounds opened by our too-fast pace. With humans returned to their natural ecology, the world turns more freely. Corrie Wright’s slow and patient art using the small and often overlooked is worthy of louder celebrations as we learn to inhabit these creative lessons in site-specific transformation and connection. Corrie Wright’s work was on display from September 2015 until early 2016 at Spicers Tamarind Retreat Maleny. Her blog and research with more details and images following the processes and vicissitudes of the moss art journey can be found at https://gathering4moss.wordpress.com Dr Tamsin Kerr is a writer and artist as well as running the Cooroora Institute on the Sunshine Coast of Australia: sharing the song of the earth through creative practice. tamsin@cooroorainstitute.org www.cooroorainstitute.org www.facebook.com/Cooroora

Corrie Wright, “Wherever you go, there you are”, Installation, Spicers Tamarind Retreat, 2015-2016. Photographs by Ross Annels, Cooroora Institute.

Open studios gallery library Sunday afternoons - 780 Cooroy Belli Creek Rd Black Mountain

Woodfordia Wrap 30 Years and counting Photojournalism is often the best way to capture the essence of the wondrous Woodfordia site with its mid-year The Planting festival and the Woodford Folk Festival’s seasonal straddling of old and new years. Here we bring activities relating to botany, as appeared at the WFF 30th anniversary celebrations. WFF (Woodford Folk Festival) Flower Fields Project The collaborative WFF Flower Field project by artists Corrie Wright (who appears in the contributed article of our previous pages) and Tamara Kirby, was launched as a concept and through preliminary workshops at the 2015 The Planting festival, with project culmination

at the Woodford Folk Festival of 2015/2016. Centring on the 2015 WFF theme of returning to our roots, listening to the seeds of the past and tending to the gardens of the future, hundreds of handcrafted small flowers were to be worked into a large scale outdoor artwork with the objective of involving a large number of people from the region, building interest in the festival and achieving excellent outcomes for both festival and community. Artists Tamara and Corrie’s initial response was to develop a multilayered project around particular ancient flowers under the WFF theme of ancient wisdom and knowledge with the intent of mass participation and community based workshops handmaking numerous flowers from the artists’ template design with finished flowers to be an Installation at WFF. Careful consideration of design saw the choosing of a Pinwheel for its multiple meanings according to different cultures. White and the colours orange and pink were selected for meanings rooted in ancient stories and ritual. Public programs entailed workshops, after those at The Planting, in the townships of Caloundra and Maleny, Woodford and volunteers in Flaxton and a studio at Cooran. Carniverous plants and catcus flowers were a focus and materials utilised included vinyl, upholstery pins, chicken wire, onion bags, cable ties, paper pulp, a variety of decorative components new and recycled, paints and LED strip lighting. With a team of four professional artists, including Woodford Resident Artist Gavin Ryan, and four assistants, mentoring was a clear part of the process and as with all Woodford happenings, collaboration proved to be key. ART / SCULPTURES Woodfordia was flourishing with floral and environmental art this year, standouts to mention are Kris Tully Martin and Steve Bristow’s sculptures.

WFF Flower Field Project pinwheel designs, details of works, some constructed to apply to the heart structure which lit up at night on the way to the main stage. Photos Corrie Wright, Tamara Kirby.

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Centre: Kris Tully Martin, Razorbeak, 2015, Green Bamboo, weed, fallen picabeen palm frond, recycled copper wire and cat’s claw weed vines. Left and Right: Steve Bristow, Wake up…. you can’t remember where it was… Has this dream stopped…? , Hard coated poly and projections, 2015. Photos: S. Conte.

WORKSHOPS & BEES Workshop highlights included those at The Greenhouse, with a popular night time delivery from The Edge, SLQ (who are also conducting workshops at The Planting); there were talks by bee expert Tim Heard who offered informative presentations and then walked attendees to solitary bee hive motels, following which he offered book signings of his new publication The Australian Native Bee Book, keeping stingless bee hives for pets, pollination and sugarbag honey, www.sugarbag.net for details. Bees indeed seemed to be the order of the day and two young people, Charlotte and Sari, snapped here on their way with parents to a Michael Franti concert, talked about how their Caboolture Montessori School was not far from Woodfordia and has a stingless native bee hive, courtesy of Hive Haven, which has allowed them to learn more about bees. (Turn to next page for more bee projects). www.woodfordfolkfestival.com As this edition of eARTh was was being finalised, The Planting was mid-preparation with excitement building around the unveiling of a third Wang Wen-Chih sculpture at Woodfordia.

Tim Heard presenting at WFF; Woodfordia Bee Motels; Bee decorations in a marquee; Charlotte and Sari, whose nearby Caboolture Montessori School has a stingless native bee hive, courtesy of Hive Haven. (Turn to next page for more bee projects).

Bee Residency Sandra Conte is currently ensconced with stingless native bees as inaugural Creative-in-Residence (CiR) at Logan Art Gallery, Logan City Council in the south-east corner of Queensland, Australia and here writes about that undertaking happening through April and May of 2016. My project submission entitled, ‘Creative communing with the stingless native bee’ is about awareness-raising through cultural programming around the tiny, ant-like creature that often falls under the radar because of its small scale and lack of defining features to the human eye. My journey to this project came from having my car fixed in my new township; realising the owners of the mechanical business were inventors focussed on protecting bees from overheating and other threats, I could not help but be transfixed by their prototype designs; this soon turned into a facilitation with a nearby school to effect a pilot school project, introducing the Hive Haven design to the Caboolture Montessori School community. Part of this process made me realise a creative resource kit entailing art programs and linked to curricula would help people engage more with the bees, to the point of advocacy. The opportunity provided by the inaugural Creative-in-Residence program at Logan Art Gallery meant I could introduce the species, again with the support and beautiful designer hives of Hive Haven to effect creative programming in the multicultural rich Logan community and to research a creative resource kit. As part of the public programming during my residency I have engaged like-minded artists to work with different groups and provided those artists with a specific brief – Sandra Pearce to run an invitational master class for seasoned print makers in miniature scale in order to be mindful and present around the tiny stature of the stingless, native bee; Nicola Hooper to run a primary school children’s polyester plate lithography workshop and Colleen Finn a solitary bee home workshop for teenagers. The gallery also effected a teachers’ professional development workshop which Sandra Pearce will run around the creation of a collaborative artists’ book.

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Public Program

s - Creative in

Sandra Conte, producer of eARTh e-mag is currently Creative-in-Residence at Logan Art Gallery, Photo Marion Jonkers Photography, background image Wild Honey Photography.

Logan Art Gall ery’s inaugura l Creative in Res idence Sandra Conte will be in resid ence at the galle ry most Thursda y and Friday mor nings during April and May developin g her project Creative communing with (stingless nati ve) bees.

Residence (CI

LANE forum: Artis

ts’ residencies

Applying to this residency as a multidisciplinary creative meant many hats were to be worn in relation to the multiple outcomes. As a visual artist, I am involved in research and development of my own ‘cloak’ art work for later enhancing the designer hives. Following residency completion, I wish to develop and tour an exhibition of the residency outcomes. I am passionate about engaging bees with cultural venues to bring new awareness to the gallery/museum audience and to bring new audiences to those venues. Contact: s_conte@bigpond.net.au

Join Logan Art Gallery’s Creative in Residence Sand ra Conte, toge ther with Rachael Lee and Mary Elizabeth Barron to talk about artis ts’ residencies. See LANE page for more information.

Saturday 7 May,

2pm to 4pm

Light refreshments will be served so bookings are essential by Thurs day 5 May on 3412 or email artgallery@ 5519 logan.qld.gov.au

Little heroes: poly ester plate lithograp hy printmaking work shop school age children for primary with artist Nicola Hooper Join Nicola Hoo per for this high ly unique and specialized non-toxic form of lithography deve loped in the USA yet taught in Aust and not ralia. Be inspired Australian nativ by the e bees and hives present in Logan Art Galle ry courtyard and produce individua l, multi coloured from semi-tran prints sparent plates.

Saturday 21 May,

10am to 2pm

Places available: 15 For ages: 7 to 11 years What to bring: Lunch

Come and see the

bees during gallery open hours: 10am to 5pm Tuesday to Satu rday. Entry is free! As the Creative in Residence draw a close join the s to artis project for an infor ts involved in the mal morning tea gallery courtyard in the , where you can learn about the proje ct and farewell the hive.

Saturday 28 May,

10.30am

Places available: Unlimited For ages: All welco me

For more inform ation contact the gallery on 07 3412 5519 or email artgallery@ logan.qld.gov.au. For school and community group bookings conta ct: Lesley Nicho lson (Public Programs Officer) Tues, Thurs, Fri phone 07 3412 5671o r email lesleynicholson@ logan.qld.gov.au. The CIR is suppo rted through the Regional Arts Devel opment Fund

a partnership betwe en the Queenslan d Government and Logan City Coun cil to support local arts and cultur e.

Sally’s Story for Children ‘The Gabori Sisters: Gathering by the Sea’, a FREE, large scale interactive project, runs at GOMA’s (Gallery of Modern Art’s) Children’s Art Centre (Park Level), GOMA, (Gallery of Modern Art), Brisbane, June 25 – February 12, 2017. The project has been developed in collaboration with Gabori’s three daughters Dorothy, Elsie and Amanda Gabori. ‘The Gabori Sisters: Gathering by the Sea’ takes children on a journey to the Artists’ homeland of Bentinck Island in Queensland’s Gulf of Carpentaria. Through specially designed interactive hands-on making and multimedia activities, young visitors will be introduced to the unique and important relationship the Kaiadilt people share with the sea and the creatures who inhabit the waters around the Island. Sally was a master weaver and spent much time making incredibly fine bush string and weaving nets. She took up painting at the age of 81 in 2005 and over the final decade of her life created more than 2000 paintings with her signature command of colour and composition connecting to story places on Bentinck Island. For updates on the children’s activities, go to https://www.qagoma. qld.gov.au/whats-on/exhibitions/mirdidingkingathi-juwarnda

A child and a family participating in a Children’s Art Centre activity trial for ‘The Gabori Sisters: Gathering by the Sea’, 2016 | Photograph: Mark Sherwood. Top image: Mirdidingkingathi Juwarnda Sally Gabori, All the fish, 2005, Synthetic polymer paint on canvas. Gift of Jim Cousins, AO and Libby Cousins through the Australian Government’s Cultural Gifts Program, 2013 Collection: National Gallery of Victoria, Melbourne © Mirdidingkingathi Juwarnda Sally Gabori. Licensed by Viscopy

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The sub-tropical, hinterland Maleny Botanic Gardens & Bird World, Photo S. Conte, 2016

Until May 1

May 21 - August 28

September 16 – 25

The Margaret Flockton Award, Royal Botanic Garden Sydney, Australia. Commemorates the contribution Margaret Flockton made to Australian scientific botanical illustration.

Mirdidingkingathi Juwarnda Sally Gabori: Dulka Warngiid – Land of All, retrospective exhibition of over 50 works by the late Bentinck Island artist and senior Kaiadilt woman, Mirdidingkingathi Juwarnda Sally Gabori. QAG (Queensland Art Gallery).

Toowoomba Carnival of Flowers

https://www.rbgsyd.nsw.gov.au/Science-Conservation/ Botanical-Illustration/The-Margaret-Flockton-Award

Until May 1 The Planting, Woodfordia, Queensland, Australia www.theplantingfestival.com

Until May 8 Sculpture at Scenic World, Blue Mountains, Australia, 33 artists

and 29 sculptures/installations set within the Jurassic rainforest. www.sculpture@scenicworld.com.au

Until May 15 Adelaide Biennial of Australian Art, Art Gallery of South Australia

https://www.qagoma.qld.gov.au/whats-on/exhibitions/ mirdidingkingathi-juwarnda

May 24- 28 RHS Chelsea Flower Show www.rhs.org.uk/shows-events/rhs-chelsea-flower-show

Until June 5 20th Biennale of Sydney, ‘The future is already here - it’s just not evenly distributed’ is the theme of 20th Biennale of Sydney, presenting more than 80 artists from 34 countries across 7 major venues. Cockatoo Island/Museum of Contemporary Art Australia/ Art Gallery of New South Wales/Artspace/ Mortuary Station/Carriageworks/In-between Spaces FREE ENTRY Full program 20bos.com

adelaidebiennial.com.au

July 5-10

Until May 20

RHS hampton, Court Palace Flower Show, United Kingdom

EOI, Sculpture Residency Toolangi Forest, Victoria for November 5-20, Entries close May 20 2016 www.toolangisculpture.com

The Botanical Issue

https://www.rhs.org.uk/shows-events/rhs-hampton-courtpalace-flower-show

www.tcof.com.au

September 17 – October 3 2016 barrangal dyara (skin and bone), Royal Botanic Garden Sydney. Jonathan Jones, Aboriginal Artist and First Australian Kaldor Public Arts Project winner, will create barrangal dyara (skin and bone), the name drawn from the local Sydney Gadigal language, on whose country the project will take place, with approval from the community. Taking in a 20 000 square metre outline of where the Gardens Palace once stood, the installation will comprise 15 000 ceramic shields crafted/fabricated by Bendigo Pottery, a national ceramics factory, in the shape of bark and wooden shields once displayed in the Ethnographic Court as a supposed signifier of primitivism pre-white occupation, only to be lost when the building burned down in 1882; to align with the installation, native kangaroo grass as food pre-settlement will be planted out in the garden beds. http://kaldorartprojects.org.au/project-32-jonathan-jones

Open Year round (except Christmas Day), Maleny Botanic Gardens & Bird World www.malenybotanicgardens.com.au

24 June

02 July 2016

visionsplendidfilmfest.com

The Botanical Issue

October 6-9,

October 2016 - January 2017

Brisbane international Garden Show will transform the Pine Rivers Park at Strathpine into a dedicated gardener’s paradise and spotlight the state’s love of outdoor spaces, design, wellbeing and life-style. Highlights include a who’s who of world experts, a landscape Show Garden competition, sustainable and organic kitchen garden, more than 40 nurseries, entertainment, a custom-built food court, four days of free lectures and demonstrations with a full program of talks covering a vast array of gardening topics. All things gardening, design and permaculture over 200 sites with thousands of plants and outdoor products. Be inspired by beautiful landscape garden displays and get free help with gardening problems and plant identification from the onsite Plant Clinic.

Lee Mingwei, The Moving Garden, NGV International Taiwanese-American artist Lee Mingwei is internationally recognsied as one of the leading creators of art which invites audience participation.

http://www.brisbanegardenshow.com.au

October 21, 2016 – February 26, 2017 Viktor&Rolf: Fashion Artists, NGV International, Melbourne, Australia. Self-confessed outsiders of the fashion world, since forming their artistic partnership in 1992, Dutch fashion artists Viktor Horsting and Rolf Snoeren have gained critical acclaim for their rebellious approach to design, technical virtuosity, and deep knowledge of fashion history and experimental runway shows. www.ngv.vic.gov.au

Viktor&Rolf, Yumi, Viktor&Rolf Haute Couture Spring/Summer 2015, Van Gogh Girls Photo: Team Peter Stigter

Lee Mingwei The Moving Garden, 2009/2014 , mixed media interactive installation, granite, fresh flowers, 1200 x 134 x 60 cm, Installation view at Lee Mingwei and His Relations, Mori Art Museum, Tokyo, 2014, Photo: Yoshitsugu Fuminari, courtesy of Mori Art Museum.

Installation at Brisbane International Garden Show 2015, Photo: S. Conte, 2015.

Weekend Three

JETTY FIESTA REDCLIFFE REMEMBERS

Weekend One

KITEFEST

Weekend Two

SCARBOROUGH SOUNDS

E MASSIEVNDS WEEK ENTS OF EV

6 + 7 + 8 + 9 O C T O B E R 2 0 16 Pine Rivers Park, Strathpine Enjoy the spectacular Landscape Show Gardens Sustainable organic kitchen garden New release plants and gardening products Inspiring garden talks by leading experts

8 + 9 +10

JULY 2016 Nambour Showgrounds, Sunshine Coast Three days of inspiration, innovation and information Huge range of plants Floral design competition Free talks and demonstrations every day

Proudly supported by

www.brisbanegardenshow.com.au

www.qldgardenexpo.com.au

Two artists in the Lethbridge Gallery stable, happy to focus on leaves and botanical specimens, with stunning results, are Emma Theyers and Julie Cane.

mma Theyers’ series Age of Humans draws, in charcoal detail, on the relationship between humanity and nature. Emma’s artworks investigate the detrimental impact of ongoing human intervention, in terms of consumerism, on nature. Initially, as part of her process, Theyers created a set of sculptural assemblages, with each item signifying three key components, Heaven (growth/ nature), Man (artificial item), Earth (rock), a concept derived from the Japanese practice

of Ikebana. The result is a representation of disconnection with nature and a juxtaposition of the elements of regrowth, symbolising survival, hope and renewal. Emma holds a Bachelor of Visual Art in Fine Arts, graduating from the Queensland College of Art in 2001; she has exhibited throughout Australia and been short-listed in the Paul Guest Drawing Prize and Clayton Utz Art Award. http://www.emmatheyers.com/biography/ Emma Theyers, Above: Containment, 77 x 57cm charcoal on paper; Emma Theyers, Left: Geological Marvel 77 x 57 cm charcoal on paper. Images supplied by Lethbridge Art Gallery.

ulie Cane achieved membership of the Society of Botanical Artists in 2004 and Fellowship of the Marquetry Society in 2002. She relocated from England to Australia in 2011 and has been painting in watercolour and oil for most of her life and also works in acrylic, pastel and pencil. Her subject matter ranges across nature, wildlife, landscape and flowers and she has exhibited many paintings in Wiltshire and London, with work being shown in Central Hall Westminster and the Mall Galleries. Julie has completed a number of commissions and her work is in private collections throughout the UK and

Australia. She has had solo exhibitions and been part of various group shows. Other successes include winning the Lethbridge 10,000 Small Scale Art Award for 2014. Julie states, “I am best known for my realistic still life pictures and leaf paintings. These capture nature at its best, its ability to reduce (decay) and reuse the precious nutrients by recycling them into an ever more stunning natural environment. I feel passionately about protecting this precious world of ours”. http://www.juliecane.com

Above right: Julie Cane © Do You?, 60 x 60cm, oil on canvas, 2014. Image supplied by Lethbridge Gallery. Winner of the Lethbridge 10,000 Small Scale Art Award 2014 60cm x 60cm. Above left: Julie Cane © Calm, 30 x 40cm, oil on canvas. Image supplied by Lethbridge Gallery. To left: Julie Cane © The Flower, 50 x 50cms. Image supplied by Lethbridge Gallery.

The Botanical Issue

The Tree Project by Anne Harris When a Tree Falls… There is a space that it leaves behind There is a place where it ‘wood’ have been An ancient anonymous tree fell across a road, it stopped traffic. The tree was cut into pieces and taken for wood chipping. A woman saw the place where the tree had been and went to record the story, she followed the trunk to the tip where it sat abandoned, awaiting chipping. Where once stood a tree, that had seen all, traditional culture displaced, colonisation, bullocks replaced by automobiles, people

come and go, now there is a space, a place where there are new shoots beginning to appear. Emerging out of the chaos that the fallen limbs and canopy created. The resilience that this ancient tree can share with us, to become aware of our resources, to stop and take the time to record and find a connectedness that was once common place with humans and nature. The tree will now become the catalyst for community art and an exhibition to be held in 2017, to continue the story and see what grows out of respect for the past and an optimism for a new future. To follow The Tree Project developments go to www.anniesworkroom.com.au Immediate above left: Fallen Chaos, Right: Split Beauty, Top: Wood In-waiting, Photos by Anne Harris.

Watermarks Up the Noosa River by Béatrice Prost As a fervent photographer and kayaker, I have been exploring Noosa River up close for the past few years. With my forthcoming solo exhibition, ‘Watermarks Up the Noosa River’, I wish to offer the experience of exhilaration and beauty our river provides to the viewer. Taking place from November 24, 2016 to January 15, 2017 at the Noosa Regional Gallery, it is designed as a sanctuary where the onlooker can enter my river-skimming world, just above and below the water surface, a low and slow mode of distorted time and space. A guaranteed breathtaking river view taken from an unusual eye level. Focus will be on its upper course, where the river becomes more natural and less penetrated. I want to share the Everglades that few of us take the time or might have the chance to see. I will bring those things you cannot see high and fast from a boat or from a river bank and only when floating flush with the water surface. A series of newly created unique, hand-carved extra large paper works will be interspersed with mixed media works where the materials are pushed to abstraction to recall the luscious reflections and light of the Everglades.

The Botanical Béatrice Prost, Inflorescence, unique hand-carved work on paper, 105x75cm, 2015 Issue

Lucila’s Murals

rgentine artist, Lucila Dominguez is a muralist and illustrator based in Buenos Aires, immersing herself in creation and collaboration. A lover of travel and nature, Lucila specialises in botanically-themed murals, strong and colourful, to stunning effect. This month she was in Australia and shared some of her story with eARTh emag. After studying Fine Arts, Lucila gained experience in the creation of large-scale projects by working in the film industry alongside talented art directors and set designers. She also developed as a freelance illustrator and participated in several exhibitions with her artwork. Lucila has been painting murals by commission for over six years, creating works, for both interiors and exteriors, decorating boutiques, hotels, restaurants and private residences in Argentina, Uruguay, Brazil, Spain and Russia.

The Botanical Issue

Lucilia Dominguez paints EMOTIONS, Four Seasons Hotel, Buenos Aires, Argentina Photo: Soledad Allami

Lucila’s fascination with the natural world motivated her to create FLORA - Feria de Arte Plantístico, a collective exhibition of botanical art. Her rationale was to highlight Argentinian emerging artists who share her interest in nature. FLORA has had three annual editions in Buenos Aires (2013-2014-2015) and the Flora 2015 iteration presented painting, drawing, collage, illustration, papercut, origami, jewellery and embroidery by twelve such artists. There is a blog as the catalogue with a work of each artist from the last edition: http://plantismo.tumblr.com/ Lucila is also grateful to be able to share this video made by Daniela Grandinetti. https://vimeo.com/147662811 Lucila’s inspiration, clearly drawn from the natural world, develops a universe with her own take on texture, mixed with some mystery and a touch of surrealism; indeed, certain works draw parallels with Henri Rousseau, a past master

of detail who would employ multiple shades, sometimes over 20, of green in the one work. Lucila’s works presents that same richness. The Ravenala madagascariensis (Traveler Palm) features in much of Lucila’s work like the commissioned work for a restaurant called iLatina and as Lucila explains, “It’s one of the most important restaurants of Latin America’s food in Buenos Aires, the owners are from Colombia. http://ilatinabuenosaires.com/ My Traveler Palm Mural, it’s inspired about this palm with the same name. The origin of this name emerged in the botanical cruises of the XVII century, when explorers found water to drink in the bowls of the plant’s giant ribs. I love it because of its beautiful symmetry and elegance, also because I chose it for the logo of FLORA’s first edition (December 2013)”. That this profile on Lucila takes place in the newly created ’30 Something’ section of eARTh

e-mag is fitting. The purpose being to highlight dedicated mid-career artists who by their 30’s have moved from an emergent phase to take on the world with confidence, the earth and environment rating high on their agenda. Overleaf, we move to talk about our ‘Next Issue’, the themes of editions #10 and #11, seguing with one more work by Lucila which foots the bill… To watch Lucila paint from start to finish in ‘Un Mural Botanico’ go to https:// vimeo.com/135306574 Credits: Lucía Galli · luciagalli.com/ Música: Chancha Via Circuito · Sueño en Paraguay | Buenos Aires | Argentina | June 2015 http://lucilismo.com The Botanical Issue

‘Strelitzia Reginae’ Queen Plant Illustration from the book The Temple of Flora (1812) of Robert John Thornton

Left: Lucila with detail of her Erminda Mural | 3.5 x 15 mts | | Villa del Parque Buenos Aires, Argentina | Antú Martin Photography. Middle: Lucila in her studio creating Botanical Paintings for BANCA Furniture. Photo: Soledad Allami Right: Lucila Right Dominguez painting Traveler Palm | ILatina | 3 x 5 mts | Photo: Laura Macías

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Lucila Dominguez, Traveler Palm | ILatina | 3 x 5 mts | Photo: Laura Macías

Next Issue ~ Bicycles? from page 23… “The story of this mural is funny. Traveler Palm is one of the typical species of palms from the Colombian Caribbean, the nationality of Santiago Macías, chef and creator of the famous restaurant iLatina. He was travelling around Latin America on a bike for several years, so this bike represents his traveller soul and it’s very important to him. iLatina was opened in 2012 with this bike on the wall. In 2015, Santiago and his sister Laura met me because I painted for MOOI, another important restaurant for Buenos Aires, so I was asked to paint them this palm to give a tropical background on their bike, and I couldn’t say no!” Lucila Dominguez, Muralist, Buenos Aires, 2016 On your bike. There will no doubt be some bicycle stories in eARTh e-mag Edition #10, November 2016, tentatively entitled ‘Walk the Line’ and themed around peripatetic artists; it is about mobility, transition towns and the leg work required to support, observe and report on the environment through the arts; it is anticipated there will be a roving and guest editor involved in issue preparation, so stay tuned.

The Botanical Issue

Board Culture. Edition #11 of May 2017 ‘The Board Meeting’ ~ Eco Corporate Culture, is another edition to be mindful of, ranging from green-desking to paddling for a cause. Contributions. Please send in any contributions you think work around the themes, still involving the intersect of art and environment. All correspondence to be sent to eARTh e-mag Producer, Sandra Conte of Conte Creative Concepts at s_conte@bigpond.net.au Up-to-date with eARTh Check our FB page for regular updates and listen for the drum-roll on two new exciting formal partnerships for both eARTh emag and eARThYZine: the latter scheduled to pilot later this year as our spin off project for teens and ‘twenty-somethings’ with Zandalee (pictured) at the helm as advisor, to keep our finger on the youth pulse. Zandalee Clarke, advisor to eARTh e-mag on youth issues and eARThYZine pilot project. Photo S. Conte, 2015.

‘Sculpture at Scenic World’ is an annual, prestigious award located in Australia’s World Heritage-listed Blue Mountains. In a remarkable finalist’s field, Patonga artist, Michael McIntyre, has won the 2016 major award of $20 000 and the 2016 NAVA (National Association for the Visual Arts) Environmental Award. Michael’s winning entry Extinct Markers, made from discarded cane, woven grass and paint is commentary on endangered or threatened species. The Artist’s statement reads:Australia has one of the most diverse landscapes on the planet, 85% of flowering plants, 84% of mammals and 45% of birds are endemic. The age and geographic isolation of the land has encouraged a unique biota, however much has disappeared since European settlement; 22 bird, 4 frog, 1 invertebrate, 28 mammal and 37 plant species are listed as extinct in the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999 (EPBC), and many more are listed as endangered or threatened. ‘Extinct Markers’ aims to bring to light the toll that urbanisation and introduced species has had on Australia’s fragile ecosystems by confronting the audience with the massive list of extinct animals and plants compiled by the EPBC, while at the same time celebrating the colour and diversity of the natural world.The artwork takes the form of a series of coloured woven marker discs embedded in the forest, each disc coloured to mimic an individual species pushed to extinction.‘Extinct Markers’ is a memorial, a reminder of our shared history and a colourful beacon highlighting nature’s complexity.

Extinct Markers, was selected from a field of 28 finalists’ artworks by esteemed judges Dr Felicity Fenner, the Director of UNSW Galleries, and Claire Healy, Visual Artist and founding member of the Imperial Slacks artist run initiative (judge Michael Snelling, Director of the National Art School, was unable to participate in the final decision due to illness). The Judges applauded Michael’s extensive series of coloured woven marker discs embedded in the rainforest, saying the work “showed depth of site specificity in terms of its physical relationship to the site”. In its fifth year, more than 500 artists from all over the world have entered the coveted ‘Sculpture at Scenic World’ exhibition. Other awards presented included the NAVA Environmental Award – also won by Michael McIntyre; a Highly Commended mention for Melbourne artist, Tunni Kraus (The Golden Shopping Trolley); and the Blue Mountains Cultural Centre Exhibition Opportunity – won by South Coast artists, Suzie Bleach and Andy Townsend, with ALICANTO. A landscape image of Michael’s work features on the, overleaf, back cover of this edition of eARTh e-mag, as photographed by Keith Maxwell. http://www.sculptureatscenicworld.com.au Michael McIntyre, Extinct Markers, 2016 Sculpture at Scenic World, A Shot Above Photography, 2016.

The Botanical Issue