Extracting and transferring the life juice from the tree
I looked at writers such as David Tacey,86 Anna Voight87 and Nick Waterlow,88 who deal with concepts of spirituality and the Australian environment.
85
No images are available for this work.
86
Tacey, David J., Edge of the Sacred: transformation in Australia, Blackburn North Victoria, Australia: Harper Collins Pty. Ltd., 1995.
87
Voigt, Anna, New visions, new perspectives: voices of contemporary Australian women artists, Roseville East NSW: Craftsman House, 1996.
Again using materials from the trees, I decided to pursue a different line of investigation. I began an extensive range of experiments by extracting dyes from leaves, bark and flowers from the trees. Initially, I experimented with the dyes on silk, cotton and woollen fabrics. The concepts behind this technique were about transferring the essence or life of the tree to fabric or paper. The extraction of dyes from the plant material is very slow and not unlike an alchemical process.89 After some experimentation, I decided that the use of silk was not relevant to my project. Cotton did not give very good results, as the dye does not work on plant fibres as well as upon the fibres derived from animal sources.
44. Process 45. Forest composition
I cut up woollen blankets90 obtained from a local op-shop into pieces, each approximately 40 cm square in size. When the colour of my dye was to my satisfaction I immersed one or two pieces of blanket, which were left to boil for several more hours.
I also decided to experiment by using paper as support. For the dyeing of paper I used large containers and poured the dye over the paper. At times I left the paper for several days or even weeks in the dye-bath, until I was satisfied with the resulting colour or texture. Sometimes I repeated this process several times with the same piece of wool or paper, seeking to achieve a layered effect and more intense shades of colour and texture. I tried dipping and folding as well as tying more plant material between the
88
Waterlow, Nick OAM, Mellich Ross, Spirit and place: art in Australia,Sydney, Australia: Museum of Contemporary Art, 1991.
89
See appendix 2 for technical information on dyeing with natural materials.
90
I use creamy-coloured hospital blankets that were popular during the early- to mid- nineteen hundreds. Some might have holes or are frayed at the edges; this adds visual evidence of the materials’ history, which is embedded in its fibre. Generations of people might have used these very blankets for protection from the cold or just for comfort.
pieces. I experimented with many different sorts of papers. Some fell apart while others were too stiff. I decided that, for my purpose, Stonehenge and Khadi paper were the most suitable.
The resulting pieces of woollen blanket and paper are embedded with traces of life of the tree and provide a metaphor for a spiritual journey. The colours are very appealing; they vary from soft rich browns, to shades of greys, greens and intense luminous yellows. The results range from very subtle tonal variations, to areas where the leaves or branches leave ghostlike imprints, to pitch black areas.
I started experimenting with formal qualities of the work by combining the pieces of paper or wool into geometric compositions and by exploring combinations of shapes and colours. My aim was to compose works imbued with the essence of the tree and evoke a feeling of contemplation. The works are a link with the immaterial world and an attempt to grasp the forces of nature. I wanted to make objects of beauty, like small abstract shrines, to draw people in and make them aware of the wonders of nature.
46. Forest Composition, 2004 47. Forest Composition, 2004
The outcome of this work led me to Tree Tales, a solo exhibition at Entrepot Gallery at the Centre for the Arts (2004). I exhibited nine of the twenty-five Forest Compositions I had made. Each work was made out of paper. This exhibition resulted in the inclusion of four of my works in The Place Where Three Dreams Cross,91 an exhibition that deals with notions
91
The Place Where Three Dreams Cross. Plimsoll Gallery, University of Tasmania curated by Bryony Nainby, (at the moment of this writing touring around the country).
49.Death Blanket, Forest blanket, 2004
of environment and combines the works of Western Australian, Tasmanian and Central Desert artists.
48. The Place Where Three Dreams Cross, Plimsoll Gallery
I decided to make a larger work with the woollen blanket pieces. This became the first Forest Blanket.
In another trial at the Fine Arts Gallery, I combined some of the large drawings and a frieze of the dyed works, as well as the Forest Blanket (1).
Forest Blanket (1) alludes to the aerial landscape, where paddocks have taken over the wilderness, and to the loss of diversity. The feeling and texture of the boiled wool draws out a feeling for the archetypal and relates to Beuys’ use of felt. Although in his work the felt refers to protection, in my work the woollen blanket refers to the loss of forest cover, that loss which in the physical world, produces global warming. Forest Blanket (1) also relates to Kiki Smiths’ Dowry Cloth, a hand-stitched work made from sheep wool and human hair, as well as to the Wagga rugs.92
For this trial, I also made Death Blanket. This was the charcoal piece made to complement
Forest Blanket. I displayed the two blankets, close together like a diptych, on low plinths. Through this show I realised,
92
These quilts were originally made by men in the bush and used outdoors; they were mainly used during the depression era in Australia, and used to keep warm on the road while looking for work. Later the term was used to describe bed coverings also made by women and used inside the home as well as outdoors. Rolfe, Margaret, Patchwork Quilts in Australia, Richmond Victoria, Australia: Greenhouse Publications Pty Ltd, 1987, p.96.
even more than before, how very important it was to control the environment in which the work was displayed. The combination of works and the interfering doors and windows in the setting did not inspire the contemplative environment I was trying to achieve.
I explored the combinations and compositions of dyed work on paper quite extensively but decided not to use this work for presentation for my final exhibition. I am intending to produce more work along these lines; however I feel that they do not fulfil my aim for this project - of activating the space and producing a close connection between the work and the viewer – as well as the other works do.