Last night I attended the opening of Green Nation: an exhibition of living art, craft and design at Artisan. Curated by Kirsten Fitzpatrick and Romy Willing, the exhibition explores the next frontier of ‘green’ by integrating living, growing nature into the work. Moss graffiti, growing jewellery, permaculture design, contemporary bonsai, installation art and living garments are some of the works created by Eliza Donald, Christian Duell, Donna Franklin & Gary Cass, Janet Laurence, Richard Neville, David Nicholson, La Chanh Nguyen, Claire Poppi, Nicole Voevodin-Cash.
Also opening last night in Artisan’s Crucible space were Nicole Voevodin-Cash’s Carpette installation which is described as, “a mountain range of lounges that is ‘neither architecture, furniture nor landscape, but a location the body can occupy'”, and the much anticipated annual Xmas show, Cherish with divine gift ideas for the festive season in Artisan’s (m)art store.
Green Nation, in particular, got me thinking about the trajectory my work has taken this year and where I plan on working within my practice over the coming year. The show represents growth and mindfulness and takes the focus on ‘green’ away from economic discussions, bringing it back to the ‘physical’ – plants as life force, as providers of that which sustains us.
So much of my work has focused on ‘the botanical’ this year, and in this sincere ‘physical’ way. Between the launch of Moore & Moore’s wallpaper collection, which I developed in conjunction with director, Lynne Testoni, and my own solo exhibition, Collected Patterns: The botany of Walter Hill, I have found myself surrounded by plants of all kinds as reference for these commercial and artistic projects. The balance has been in keeping my approach driven by my artistic intent, even in the commercial space of wallpaper design. It’s here that I am able to develop the layers of meaning that I believe make the work sing well past patternmaking.
This is the space that I wish to continue to evolve in.
Green Nation runs until 21 December…
