Magnification Thousands of Years, Biomimicry and the State of Change
Wireless Hill Museum YAGAN MIA WIRELESS HILL PARK
A solo exhibition by Nidia Hansen
starts
SUNDAY 5
SUNDAY 10
2021
2021
SEPTEMBER
OCTOBER
ends
Nidia Hansen is a diminutive artist, with big ideas. Small in stature, Nidia’s creative, internal world is gigantic. I first met Nidia over 12 years ago when she assisted with research for the upcoming Centenary celebrations of the former Applecross Wireless Station in 2012. It’s now been over a decade of quiet, dedicated and at times solitary research by Nidia, into the hill’s history and various stories. Yagan Mia / Wireless Hill Park is a site that is unique in its biodiversity, cultural history and long association with communication, in many forms.
Magnification by Nidia Hansen is a pilot program at Wireless Hill Museum, which seeks to task an artist with the interpretation of the site. It is the first time an artist has completed a survey of the park, and commenced a residency in situ in the museum itself, the shell of the former Engine Room of the old station that was in service from 1912 to 1967. Drawn to the natural world, Nidia likes to capture what is beautiful to her by focusing on the detail. Beyond the immersive and tactile sensations of Nidia’s giant panels and nature based installations lies some serious thought given to the site’s history of communication, and humanities’ precariousness in the world right now. Concerned with the growing pressures imposed on the natural world, Nidia’s artworks ignite environmental awareness through personal reflection. The works delve into the world of organisms at a molecular level, taking the viewer on an otherworldly journey through nature. There is microscopic cellular structure, there is landscape and then there is something cosmic and hugely universal about her work. The large canvas Bassendean Soil Profile, is heavily imbued with a layer of embedded sand, creating an incredibly tactile world. But do we realise the significance of the top 30cm of soil and how important it is for our continued survival? Similarly, the perspective of Cosmic Canopy deeply informs Nidia’s practice. It represents a bird’s eye view from a tiny insect on the hill, gazing up through the trees at night time into the eternal void of the universe, again referencing the symbolism of humanities precariousness, fragility and finite time stamp. The large composition, Thousands of Years, infused with resin, is intentionally abstracted, encouraging the viewer to also see the landscape in a different light – and to appreciate what is remarkable about nature.
The Chrysalis Series talks of a time of change that is happening right now. The referencing of the site can be seen a metaphor for a greater underlying theme - human interaction with nature, and the state of change. A site of sacred significance, Yagan Mia has undergone vast changes since Applecross Wireless Station was built. In 1912, the entire hill was completely denuded of trees in an effort to improve conductivity for transmission at the new station. One hundred years of slow regrowth has seen the 40 hectare park regenerated into a site of unique biodiversity, now ironically surrounded by suburbia. Serendipitously, the station that razed the hill has been the very thing that has saved it, and secured its future. Magnification is an exhibition that boldly interprets a site that is deserving of its identity as a biodiversity hotspot, of high Indigenous significance, and heritage status at a national level.
Gina Capes City of Melville Museums and Local History Creative Lead and Museums Curator
Magnification
Curator’s Forward
As the season of Djilba remind us of the powerful forces of nature and its constant state of change through its cyclical rhythms, the exhibition Magnification blends together arts, science, and nature to remind us of the metamorphic changes that occur in nature, particularly at a turning point of time in human history, marked by a global pandemic. How does billions of years of evolution transform nature from a state of threat into rebirth? The meaning of biomimicry derives from the idea of ‘memesis’ (from the Greek concept mımos, lit. ‘to imitate’). Mimicry in art is used as a representation, rather than copying, and it means the ability to simulate the appearance of something. Plato and Aristoteles understood mimesis as a representation of nature. Thus, although relatively new, the concept of biomimicry, understood as ‘a revolutionary new science that analyses nature’ is not entirely new, as there are a number of historical examples that have been used for bio-design (Leonardo Da Vinci’s flying machine, Indigenous ways of sustainable management of the land that mimic natural process, Art Nouveau etc). However, moving away from mimicking simply the shapes and forms of plants and animals to considering the more complex function they perform in the entire eco-system, to enable organisms to survive and to adapt, is a more specific new way of using the concept of biomimicry. The move towards the concept of eco-mimicry offers a new inherent sustainable way of environmental and social adoption of art, that take into account the localities, the historical context and the communities that are involved in the production and the consumption of the new arts or designs. Similarly, to the concepts of biomimicry, the exhibition utilises organic materials and biomorphic shapes, coupled with the richness of the hill’s colours, patterns and soils to intertwine them into the science of eco-mimicry, bringing to light not only the evident beauty of flowers, but also the shapes and patterns and their functions (such as decaying and regrowth). Magnification re-visits the concepts of biomimicry with an eco-centric inspiration and ideas from the Wireless Hill to create immersive sensations and natureblend installations.
Dr Silvia Lozeva Research Officer, Social Care and Ageing (SAGE) Living Lab School of Social Sciences, Anthropology and Sociology The University of Western Australia
Cosmic Canopy, 2021. Polymer acrylics, charcoal and inks on fabric. 300 x 236 cm
Artist Statement Art, science and nature have been intertwined throughout human history. Imitating nature, whilst adapting its functions and systems, has been the way to help us evolve and improve our lives in countless aspects. Nature’s staged evolution arises from inner and external transformations that are influenced by their close environment and by distant cosmic effects. The similarities between art, science and nature’s systems are found in the need for adaptation through periods of resilience and survival. These are prerequisites in a course of action to reach balance, flow, harmony and self-expression - but mostly to achieve synchronicity within the self and the environment. The nature at Yagan Mia Wireless Hill has inspired me to create artworks that reflect the significance of its biodiversity. It also enabled me to examine the relevance of nature in this time of a worldwide pandemic. The pandemic is itself a stage of change, evident in the temporary chaos - a catalytic moment in human history that has many similarities with the metamorphic stages that also occurs in nature. The artworks that I present in this exhibition are the result of more than two years of research, observations, photography, comparative examination, the creative process and a meditative contemplation of the intersections between art, biomimicry, science and nature. But along with this my art journey has had to contend with the limits imposed with pandemic restrictions and finding an extra-large studio area. The research led to a better understanding about the Wireless Hill connection with and importance for local Noongar Whadjuk people who used the plants of the site for food and medicinal purposes. Many of the site species are specific to South Western Australia which is a world biodiversity hotspot. Thousands of years of nature’s work developing the significant biodiversity almost came to an end during the clearing of the site in 1912, 50 years of annual burnings continued this stemming of growth. With the earnest work of the City of Melville and other governing agencies, nature has once again emerged from its micro structures and ecological systems, gaining an inner strength to transform from a stage of threat into a rebirth. This is a testimony for positive change from survival. I felt intrigued about how I could interpret, through the taxonomy of biomimicry and magnification, artworks that could illustrate the universal scale of nature and its cycles; as well as the usually unnoticeable features. I wanted to observe and accept the simple shapes that many times are overlooked by the obvious evident beauty of flowers. The diverse artworks came from asking nature and interpreting its way. I hope viewers can feel the joy and the immense generosity from nature that I felt during this time. I hope people feel inspired to look at nature with new eyes while being part of this second human renaissance. We humans are just one species in the ecological diversity of our planet, but the only one that can lead to a catastrophe or a remarkable recovery.
By Nidia Hansen Perth, August 2021
Thousands Of Years (Metamorphosis Series), 2021. Polymer acrylic, inks, sand, acrylics media and thermoplastic resin on fabric. 300 x 183 cm.
Bassendean Soil Profile, 2021. Polymer acrylic, sand, glues and acrylics media on fabric. 240 x 176 cm
Artist’s Acknowledgements Thank you to Dr Silvia Lozeva, School of Social Sciences, Anthropology and Sociology, The University of Western Australia, Dr Noel Nannup, Dr Eddy Wajon, David Knowles, Kaitlyn Elsegood, Kelly Pilgrim-Byrne (7 to 1 Photography) and IOTA21 Craft Triennial. Thank you to the City of Melville for supporting this project; Cultural Services; the Museums and Local History team at Wireless Hill Museum, and finally my husband Paul Hansen, my art angel.
The City of Melville acknowledges the Bibbulmun people as the Traditional Owners of the land on which the City stands today and pays its respects to the Whadjuk people, and Elders both past and present. City of Melville nagolik Bibbulmen Nyungar ally-maga milgebar gardukung naga boordjar-il narnga allidja yugow yeye wer ali kaanya Whadjack Nyungar wer netingar quadja wer burdik. For more information, visit www.melvillecity.com.au/wirelesshill
(Front page): Chrysalis (series); Metamorphosis During Covid-19 in 2020, 2021. Eucalyptus gomphocephala branch and leaves, Ficus lirata leaves, steel, fabric, copper and glue. 140 x 90 x 70 cm ISBN: 978-0-6452615-0-9