gallery > current works > found object assemblages
In March 2007 the Bellinger River flooded up to 7 metres. I managed to get home to Cool Creek just in time to look after my dog and cat and to be subsequently flooded in for a week. There is not much you can do when it is flooding except put on your raincoat and go for a walk. Everything about a river rising is awesome.
As the waters receded the time was ripe for an artist to hunt and gather. The Thora Valley is a women's valley according to the original owners of the land. You can feel it too. And as I wandered along the riverbank, what treasures I did find...as if delivered by the goddess herself.
We have all at one time or another picked up a bit of driftwood, a shell, a pebble. Something about the piece enchants us for a moment...or longer. This series of works is about more than the initial enchantment. It is about seeing the extraordinary drawing in nature, suspending a little of the ego and collaborating with it...and the joy of sharing it with you.
Amazon
Bellinger River Hieroglyphics
Cool Creek Brushbox
Cool Creek Forest Oak
Cool Creek Grass Tree
Flood and Fire
Water on Wood
When I chop wood for the fire, I have often noted the channels made by the Witchetty Grubs on the trunks of the Flooded Gums. I have often thought that one day I would take a rubbing from these marks of nature.
One winter's day, chopping wood again to keep us warm, the fallen bark around the chopping block caught my eye. I noticed the same Witchetty Grub tracks on the inside surface of the bark. In the sawdust embedded in these tracks I would sometimes find a tiny Witchetty Grub. The rain was falling this day and the light caught the bark surface in such a way that I saw the incredible drawing of these tracks.
These works are the bark pieces from around my chopping block at home...a collaboration of artist and Witchetty Grub.
Witchetty Grub Language I
Witchetty Grub Language II
Witchetty Grub Language III
Canopy
Springs
Spirit Hunter
Forest Spirits
Waterscape
Couple
Woman Timeless
Mountain Rivers
Fence Post Patchwork
Other found object assemblages:
Kim de Vahl Baker 2007 ABN 91895455326
