Recipient of the Perry Summers Sculpture Book Prize.
_________________________________
RELOADED LANDS
I am a sculptural installation artist located in Wathaurong Country, Ocean Grove, Victoria. Throughout my practice, I explore environmental themes and eco-activist art. I am influenced by my intrinsic connection to the natural world and preserving its beauty for future generations to enjoy and hopefully maintain.
I often work closely with ready-made and organic found materials to create site-specific works exploring ideas based around ecological consideration, the climate crisis, psychological and bodily connection to nature, and notions of a more sustainable future.
The installation, Reloaded Lands explores the tensions around hunting and the necessary act of culling invasive species to regenerate native Australian landscapes. It is an installation work consisting of a topographical landscape that is dressed with shotgun bullet casings—both ready-made and replicated—containing native Australian plants. The shotgun shells within the sculpture once encased bullets that were used to hunt non-native animals which raided and destroyed the lands into which they were introduced. This kind of hunting is not for sport but to control the population of invasive species in order to preserve native habitats as best as possible. I am using the void within the used shells to grow native Australian seedlings which will be planted in the area where the hunting occurred. I intend to disrupt the mental constructs behind guns and reframe the firearm for its positive employment to restore environments that have been so greatly impacted by the ecological introductions of colonisation and early settlers. This installation is a commentary on the cyclical nature of the organic world, to nurture new life and give back to the environment.
