I’m thrilled to be the recipient of the Heysen Prize for Landscape 2022!
This significant national prize is organised by Hahndorf Academy in South Australia. Erin Davidson and Sera Waters are the judges for the 2022 iteration of the prize. Erin Davison is Project Manager at the Art Gallery of South Australia, and Sera Waters is an established artist living on Kaurna Country, South Australia. My thanks to Rachel McElwee (Director) and the team at Hahndorf Academy for their amazing support and professional organisation of this prize.
My work, “narratio regenerationis (the narrative of rebirth)” is a video work (edition of 5) exploring the concept of regeneration and the importance of acacia for regeneration where I live. Acacia are soil nitrogen-fixers, and in my region, they are often the first trees to re-establish growth in disturbed landscapes. Living short, essential lives, acacia enrich soil, creating opportunities for endemic species to flourish. Celebrating landscape regeneration, this work pays homage to the role acacia’s play in Australia’s ecosystems. This work is an extension of “Furari Flores (Stealing Flowers)” transitioning into moving image. The work incorporates an aural field recording and its spectrograph analysis from my family’s property where this Queensland Silver Wattle (acacia podalyrifolia) came from.
Watch an excerpt below: