pangea flora

series on reimagined pangea flora. Encaustic with jarrah charcoal, ash, glass ground and calcium carbonate 1222mm x 777mm late 2024

These works were prompted by a study period with the Western Australian Herbarium, specifically the field trip to secure a type for the herbarium. [Typus: south-east of Dardanup, Western Australia [precise locality withheld for conservation purposes], 29 November 2007, J.A. Wege, K.R. Thiele & A.J. Stumpfel. Published in Nuytsia Western Australia’s Journal of Systematic Botany ISSN 0085–4417 2008]. The quality of western australian flora is described as being a biological hot spot and having an unusual level of extravagance that trends against things evolving to be efficient in energy and materials [cellulose].

Beyond forms and flora construction and the reverse engineering of western australian flora by reimagining, the artist is entertained with surmising the interrelationships and the pairing of signal and receipt. We understand flora having intracellular relationships [for transfer of nutrition] and the artworks points to the other interrelationships that include chemical and [surprisingly] sound. The forms in the artworks and the grouping [that include the artworks as a pair/set] are drawn as ‘objects and their field’ and the calling between. The artist approach considers a playful narrative where ‘if a tree falls in a forest does it make a sound?’ The time of pangea had no people and the criteria of a signal being paired with receipt [heard by human ears] is not met. However, it does not rule out existence of signals and entertaining their scope and ferocity. The artist is currently happy to ponder upon the signal and receipt loop.