Natural Encounter
“We can never bathe twice in the same river.” Heraclitus
There are many mysteries in nature that can intrigue and surprise. In modern life we don’t take the time to be curious or to marvel at everyday occurrences like a bird in flight or a sunset. To be captivated‚ our attention seems to require either a high level of shock or a sensational‚ easily conveyed experience. Have we become indifferent to the existence of all things around us? Are we blind to nature's aesthetic sensations? Do we ever stop to consider the wonder of being a part of an intricately balanced cycle of life? Have we become divorced from the “natural” in our quest for the extraordinary‚ the fashionable‚ the superficial ? Perhaps we feel safe in our organised‚ controlled and materialistic world – a world where more information is conveyed and more answers presented than we could ever review‚ ratify‚ or fully utilise. We accept this situation without contest or question. The confrontation with nature in its many moods can be confusing, even daunting. From the serene to the savage‚ the wildly beautiful to the mercilessly unpredictable‚ nature can represent a reality too tangibly “real” for many of us. Perhaps we are afraid of this natural encounter– afraid to ask questions– afraid of the answers. Or is it simply the case that many of us have separated ourselves from the ability‚ or even the need‚ to contemplate‚ to acknowledge.
Still more remote is the motivation to analyse and then to creatively develop and re-invent our perceptions. For me‚ this past year‚ Myall Park Botanic Garden has been a place of visual and personal inquiry. My work there has been beneficial‚ not only in terms of exploring and interpreting this wonderful natural environment‚ but also it has served as a catharsis for my own creative process. During this year‚ I have been involved with taking pinhole images of the Garden. Whilst there‚ the isolation from the reality of daily routine pressures provided time to spend in observation and contemplation. This has produced many sources of wonder and inspiration.
The Garden is not formally structured or landscaped. There are neither neatly mown lawns nor perfectly clipped hedges. Many plants are chosen for their resilience to adversity whilst others have been selected because for their growth habits or their unusual or interesting flowers. All are Australian plants that thrive in arid and semi-arid regions and most are found naturally in Western Australia. These grow alongwith the naturally occuring Queensland plant communities. Though some plants don’t take to this environment and die‚ others have grown strong‚ some producing hybrids from cross-germinating with their east coast relatives. Some of these plants have been residents here for around fifty years.
Myall Park Botanic Garden has increased my awareness of‚ and thus my appreciation for both the seen and the unseen elements of my environment. Active curiosity within the garden has increased my appreciation of the small and easily overlooked. A beautiful flower‚ a quiet place‚ trees that undergo changes revealing patterns‚ shapes and colours – these are the images that inspired me. The array of colour during a year of change‚ the diverse effects of nature’s moods‚ varied light and inconstant weather – are all significant components of the unique palette of the pinhole camera.
