The Sky is for all #1 (Sulphur-crested Cockatoo and Sparrow), The Sky is for all #2 (King Parrot and Blackbird), -The Sky is for all #3 (Crimson Rosella and Common Starling) Inkjet prints and interference watercolour. Each 52 X 77cm. Exhibited: Listening Earth Stephen McLaughlan Gallery, Melbourne August 2023. Curated by Felicity Spear. https://felicityspear.com/exhibitions/listening-earth/ and Birds Briagolong Art Gallery, September 2024.
Unlike the earth, the sky is a universal space; it is not owned and there is no dispute between humans and nature for possession. While the natural world on earth is in decline and animals clash with humans over habitat, little has changed in the sky. In these images I have merged John Constable’s skies from the 19th century, close to the time Australia was colonised, with my own photographs. The calls of certain common native and non-native birds punctuate the clouds. Once separated on opposite sides of the earth, these birds now exist together sharing the same skies as a network of interconnected species.
Unlike the earth, the sky is a universal space; it is not owned and there is no dispute between humans and nature for possession. While the natural world on earth is in decline and animals clash with humans over habitat, little has changed in the sky. In these images I have merged John Constable’s skies from the 19th century, close to the time Australia was colonised, with my own photographs. The calls of certain common native and non-native birds punctuate the clouds. Once separated on opposite sides of the earth, these birds now exist together sharing the same skies as a network of interconnected species.
Into Thin Air#1 (Baudin's Black Cockatoo)
Into Thin Air#2 (Carnaby's Black Cockatoo)
Into Thin Air#3 (Forest Red-tailed Black Cockatoo)
Into thin air#1 - #3 Inkjet prints with interference watercolour. Each: 52 X 77 cm. Exhibited: Of Ghosts and Angels Art Collective, Perth, WA. December 2022
https://artcollectivewa.com.au/whats-on/of-ghosts-and-angels-group-exhibition/
Originally from the UK, I have always been interested in 19th century English representations of the sky, particularly the 1822 sky studies of John Constable. For many years I have explored the atmospherics of the sky and its phenomena, and the effects of weather and climate on the landscape. Now living in regional Victoria, I have become a little more grounded and interested in the natural environment around my home. The devastating bushfires of Black Summer 2019/20, which left vast tracts of nearby country to waste and rendered landscapes unrecognisable are recent motivations, which also include extinction. Over the past 200 years, the rate of environmental change and loss of biodiversity has led to Australia having one of the highest extinction rates in the world.
For the works in this exhibition, I have looked to traces of the past and to what might be in the future by commingling photos of the sky I took in September this year with certain sky studies of John Constable painted in September exactly 200 years ago, close to the time Australia was colonised. Perforating the images are the phonetic cries of 3 of Western Australia’s black cockatoos now listed as endangered and possibly to soon become extinct in the wild.
My intention was to draw attention to the plight of these iconic birds, through vestiges of their skies before European settlement, combined with contemporary skies. Depending on the viewing angle the text glows like light on bird feathers, quickly to disappear as the viewer moves.
https://artcollectivewa.com.au/whats-on/of-ghosts-and-angels-group-exhibition/
Originally from the UK, I have always been interested in 19th century English representations of the sky, particularly the 1822 sky studies of John Constable. For many years I have explored the atmospherics of the sky and its phenomena, and the effects of weather and climate on the landscape. Now living in regional Victoria, I have become a little more grounded and interested in the natural environment around my home. The devastating bushfires of Black Summer 2019/20, which left vast tracts of nearby country to waste and rendered landscapes unrecognisable are recent motivations, which also include extinction. Over the past 200 years, the rate of environmental change and loss of biodiversity has led to Australia having one of the highest extinction rates in the world.
For the works in this exhibition, I have looked to traces of the past and to what might be in the future by commingling photos of the sky I took in September this year with certain sky studies of John Constable painted in September exactly 200 years ago, close to the time Australia was colonised. Perforating the images are the phonetic cries of 3 of Western Australia’s black cockatoos now listed as endangered and possibly to soon become extinct in the wild.
My intention was to draw attention to the plight of these iconic birds, through vestiges of their skies before European settlement, combined with contemporary skies. Depending on the viewing angle the text glows like light on bird feathers, quickly to disappear as the viewer moves.
Wink (top), Blink (bottom), Inkjet prints with screenprint and silver flocking. Each: 34 X 147 cm. Exhibited: Attending Latrobe Regional Gallery,
Victoria 2022. latroberegionalgallery.com/project/attending/
Victoria 2022. latroberegionalgallery.com/project/attending/
When night meets day Inkjet print with screenprint. 100 X 75 cm. Exhibited: Space: 50 years since man stepped on the moon. Gippsland Art Gallery, Sale 2019. Cosmos Gippsland Art Gallery, Sale 2023. www.gippslandartgallery.com/exhibition/space/ Collection: Gippsland Art Gallery, Sale, Victoria
Night Vision(s) 2016 (details). Inkjet prints on aluminium. Dimensions variable.
Night Vision(s) 2016. Exhibited: Sky Lab: Kepler's Dream at LUVAC, Bendigo, Victoria 2016
Across the Aether#3, #7 and #9 2015. Inkjet prints and silver ink. Each 80 X 100 cm.
Across the Aether#3, #7 and #9. Exhibited: Sky Lab at Counihan Gallery, Melbourne 2015. Photographs: Janelle Low
Ad Astra 2013. Inkjet print and silver ink. 240 X 100 cm
Midnight Sky 2014. Inkjet prints and silver ink. Each 41 X 51 cm
Outer Site#1 and #2 2013. Inkjet prints. Each 85 X 110 cm.
