Impressions: in land and of place

Balawan: On Country

Responses to the Bundian way | Environment Studio

14 - 22 August 2019

ANU School of Art and Design Photospace Gallery

When we are on Country we are a part of it not apart from it. Respecting its natural form and nuances, we learn to work beside and within it. Impressions is a work which expresses how I felt within the shifting terrains of the Bundian Way. From the Kosciuszko region to Jigamy and surrounding coast, I felt a sense of comfort, as well as disappointment to see a land shorn and laid bare for the sake of unsustainable practices. Impressions is my response to being on Country and the organic and inorganic marks I experienced. Natural fibres, dyes and pigments are interwoven within the work to give a sense of connection to place, as they are a part of the land and its history, not solely a representation of it. Immersing and being in a place is a way of observing that fully connects you to it. Experiencing these environments makes apparent the various marks and impressions within them; alternatively, how the land leaves an emotional and sensory impression on us.