Sydney College of the Arts - CORE

SydneyCollegeoftheArts

TheUniversityofSydney

Athesissubmittedinfulfilmentoftherequirementsforthedegreeof

DOCTOROFPHILOSOPHY

2018

THESIS

TRANSITIONS:

Biophilia,Beauty,andEndangeredPlants

by

EmmaRobertson

January2018

Statement

ThisthesisispresentedasarecordoftheworkundertakenforthedegreeofDoctorof

PhilosophyatSydneyCollegeoftheArts,TheUniversityofSydney.Thisistocertifythat

tothebestofmyknowledge,thecontentofthisthesisismyownwork.Thisthesishas

not been submitted for any degree or other purposes. I certify that the intellectual

contentofthisthesisistheproductofmyownworkandthatallassistancereceivedin

preparingthisthesisandsourceshavebeenacknowledged.

(SarahAilith)EmmaRobertson

Acknowledgements

AssociateProfessorJacquelineMillner,Supervisor,forherknowledgeandguidance,

andJustinTrendall,Director,GraduateSchool,forthehelpfulinsightsatourForums;

MiguelGarcia,Librarian,DanielSolanderLibrary,RoyalBotanicGardenSydneyfor

arrangingthescanningofMargaretFlockton’sunpublishedLichenssketchbook;

BelindaNorman,FisherLibrary,SydneyUniversity,forherassistance,care,andactive

supportformysoloexhibitionArtandNature:AntidotestoAnxiety;

SophieDaniel,TeamLeader,CommunityandEducationPrograms,forherassistance

andsupportwithtwoworkshopsItaughtattheRoyalBotanicGardenSydney;

ValerieKirk,HeadofTextiles,andDrAlMunro,CuratorsoftheDrawnThread

exhibition,AustralianNationalUniversity,Canberra;

GrahamHardy,Librarian,andLesleyScott,AssistantHerbariumCurator,attheRoyal

BotanicGardenEdinburgh,forgoingoutoftheirwaytomakemyvisitsoinspiring;

CatherineMuirden,foranunforgettablevisittoseenatureartworksatJupiterArtland,

forhergeneroushospitalityatherhomeinEdinburgh,andforherfriendship;

MargaretMcHugh,videoeditorforheradviceandskill;

DrKathFries,curatoroftheFutureStratigraphyexhibition,forhersupport;

DrVaughanRees,co-editorofthebookseriesDevelopingExpertiseintheVisual

Domain,fortheopportunitytocontributeaChapter;

DrDanielleWyatt,UniversityofMelbourne,co-editorofUnlikelyJournal,SpecialIssue,

ArtandHerbariums,forherinterest,guidanceandsupport;

ChantalBilodeau,FounderoftheinternationalnetworkArtistsandClimateChange,for

thewonderfulopportunitytohavemyworkfeaturedontheirwebsite;

TheCenterforSustainablePracticeintheArtsforfeaturingthearticleBiophiliaand

Beautyontheirwebsite,andRichardPovall,forthecross-promotiononArt.Earth.org;

TheatreDirectorLeylaModirzadehatSanJoseCityCollege,USAforscreeningand

usingbothmyfilmsintheirClimateChangeTheatreActioninNovember2017;

ProfessorAmandaBarnier,forherselectionanduseofthedrawingTheArchaeologyof

AbsenceonthecoverofthebookCollaborativeRemembering(OxfordUniversityPress,

2017)andfortheinvitationtoillustratetheforthcomingMemoryintheHeadandin

theWild:InterdisciplinarityinMemoryStudies;

ThegreatteamatTheBigAnxietyFestival;and,

MelanieMuir,forthetimelygiftofthebookHowEmotionsareMade. i

TableofContents

Acknowledgements i

TableofContents ii

ListofIllustrations iii

Abstract v

Preface vi

INTRODUCTION:Context 1

Plants 12

ResearchMethodology 14

OverviewofChapters 17

CHAPTERONE:LiteratureReview 22

FourKeyBooks 22

OtherPublications 35

ExhibitionsandFilms 39

CHAPTERTWO:OtherArtists 47

EcoArtandTransmediaArt 49

EarlierEcoArtists 55

ScienceandDrawing 59

CHAPTERTHREE:MindfulnessandBeauty 88

CHAPTERFOUR:MyWork 109

TheFirstYear2015 111

TheSecondYear2016 120

TheThirdYear2017 125

CONCLUSION:TransitionsandFutureView 140

BIBLIOGRAPHY 144

AppendixA:TwoWorkshops 159

AppendixB:ArtworkPresentedforExamination 160

ii

ListofIllustrations

Figure1.EmmaRobertson,Marketingmaterials,RoyalBotanicGardenSydney(RBGS),

2009.

Figure2.EmmaRobertson,TheShapeofLoss2009(RBGS),2009.

Figure3.EmmaRobertson,WollemiPine,fromTheBookofHoursseries(RBGS),2009.

Figure4.EmmaRobertson,FourofTheBookofHoursseries(RBGS),2009.

Figure5.EmmaRobertson,FossilAmberIce(RBGS),2009.

Figure6.EmmaRobertson,TheArchaeologyofNow(RBGS),2009.

Figure7.MargaretLilianFlockton,UnpublishedSketchbook,LichensIllustrated,BookI:

1905-1906.

Figure8.EmmaRobertson,Sketchbooks,2014-2017.

Figure9.EmmaRobertson,TestDrawing,2015.


Figure11.Advertisement,NationalSouth-WestCoalition,showingthephotograph

MorningMist,RockIslandBendbyPeterDombrovskis,1982.

Figure12.Christo,WrappedGlobeinTimeMagazine,1989.

Figure13.JohnWolseley,DesertVentifactsandtheKeelingCurve,2010.

Figure14.JohnWolseley,HistoryoftheWhipstickForestwithephemeralswampsand

goldbearingreefs,2011.

Figure15.JudyWatson,PisoniawithAcidificationGraph,2009.

Figure16.MichaelLandy,CreepingButtercup,fromtheseriesNourishment,2002.

Figure17.ManabuIkeda,Untitled,dateunrecorded.

Figure18.DavidBuckland,ChalkShards1-6,2012

Figure19.OlafurEliassonandAiWeiwei,Moon,2013–thepresent.

Figure20.VeraParadelova,Moon,(2013-present)uploadsdated2014.

Figure21.VeraParadelova,Moon,detail,(2013-present)uploadsdated2014.

Figure22.Seeds,tree,leavesandrootsbymultipleartists,fromMoon,2013–the

present.

Figure23.AiWeiwei,Blossom,detail,2014,ceramic,sizesofinstallationcomponents

various.

Figure24.AiWeiwei,Blossom,2014,ceramic,sizesofinstallationcomponentsvarious.

Figure25.EmmaRobertson,ModeloftheTripodofReflection,inspiredbythebook

MindsightbyDanielSiegel. iii

Figure26.EmmaRobertson,MappingtheMemoryoftheWorld,2015.

Figure27.EmmaRobertson,MappingtheMemoryoftheWorld,2015,asshowninA

DifferentPerspective:ArtworkbytheLaureatesoftheBiennialofDrawingPilsen.









Figure36.EmmaRobertson,TheArchaeologyofAbsence,detail,2016.

Figure37.EmmaRobertson,TheArchaeologyofAbsence,detail,2015,onthecoverof

CollaborativeRemembering(OxfordUniversityPress,2017).

Figure38.EmmaRobertson,Requiem(Red),detail,2017.



Figure41.EmmaRobertson,LinkstoVimeoVideos,2017.

Figure42.EmmaRobertson,Micrographia,still,2017.

Figure43.EmmaRobertson,DepositionLines,still,2017.

Figure44.EmmaRobertson,LivingFossil,detail,2017.

Figure45.EmmaRobertson,LivingFossil,installationview,DrawnThread,ANU,2017.

Figure46.EmmaRobertson,BiophiliaandBeauty,inArtistsandClimateChange,2017.

Figure47.EmmaRobertson,BiophiliaandBeauty,inSustainablePractice,2017.

Figure48.EmmaRobertson,MarketingMaterials,TheBigAnxietyFestival,2017.

Figure49.EmmaRobertson,ArtandNature:AntidotestoAnxiety,Case4,2017.



Figure52.EmmaRobertson,ArtandNature:AntidotestoAnxiety,Cases1and2,2017.

Figure53.EmmaRobertson,ArtandNature:AntidotestoAnxiety,testinggroup,2017.

Figure54.EmmaRobertson,ArtandNature:AntidotestoAnxiety,globes,2017.

ThecopyrightoftheimagesinAppendixB,andinFigures1,2,3,4,5,6,8,9,10,and25-54inclusive,restswiththeauthorandartist,EmmaRobertson.Imagesshouldnotbereproducedorusedwithoutpriorpermission,outsidethisthesis. iv

Abstract

Whilethesciencecontinuestounderlinetheincreasingrisksposedbyclimatechange,

rallyingthepublic tothecausehasproved increasinglydifficult.Amajorchallenge is

finding alternatives to the despair, hopelessness and consequent sense of

disempowermentthatconfrontingtherealitiesofclimatechangecanprovoke.Itisalso

thecasethatparticularsilentaspectsoftheimpactofclimatechange–forexampleon

thefutureviabilityofcertainplantspecies–receivelesspublicandpoliticalattention

thanothers,suchascatastrophicweatherevents.Artistshavebeenactiveinexploring

the impactofclimatechangethroughavarietyofaestheticstrategies inattemptsto

address these challenges andmobilise complexunderstandingsof thephenomenon.

The responseof this thesis is to focusona specific issueand location–endangered

Australian plants – and to experimentwith a range of different artistic approaches,

filteredthroughthelensofbiophiliaandbeauty.Theexperimentalartworkproduced

buildsanddemonstratesabridgebetweenbotanicalscience,endangeredplantspecies,

andart,inrelationtoclimatechange.

The PhD researchmakes four substantial contributions. First, it presents a different

perspectiveontheapplieduseofartasamodeofenquiryintoclimatechange,through

creativeagencyandadvocacyonthefocusedthemeofendangeredAustralianplants.

Second, the research explores and assesses alternative methods for making and

reconceptualisingstaticdrawingsintomovingimages,asastrategytoengageartistically

andpositivelywiththenegativeecopsychologyandecoanxietyofclimatechange.

Third, newly initiated, collaborative projectswith non-arts partners are deployed to

enhanceaudienceengagementthroughtheapplicationofdrawings.Inparalleltothis,

conventional international and national exhibitions, publications and workshops are

alsorealisedasadditionalcontributionstoknowledgewithindifferentcommunities.

Fourth,theresearchresultsinadocumentwhichexploresahopefulreconnectionwith

nature through applying and embracing an aesthetic of beauty and meditative

mindfulness. A Transmedia Art method is utilised to enhance broader community

understandingofEcoArt,usingamindful,practicebasedresearchprocess.v

Preface

OnFebruary18,2009,Imadeaspeechattheopeningofmysoloexhibition,Ascendant

andDescendant,describingtheexperienceofbeingthe2008ArtistinResidenceatthe

SydneyRoyalBotanicGardensaslifechanging.Workingwiththescientists,gardeners

and guides taught me an enormous amount, and as I looked at the many framed

drawingsonthewallsoftheRedBoxGallery,IhadtheuncomfortablefeelingthatIwas

notattheendofanextraordinaryexperience,butatthebeginningofanotherone.In

theyearssincethen,Ihavecontinuedtoresearchanddrawcriticallyendangeredplants,

andtherearenowevenmoreat-riskspeciesthanbefore.Climatechangehasalready

negatively impacted rare and unique Australian flora, many of which grow on this

continent and nowhere else on Earth. My feelings of discomfort at the exhibition

opening were not just connected tomy desire to learnmore, and to drawmore. I

wanted and needed something else. Observingmy framedmixedmedia drawings, I

couldseethatIhadachievedsome,butnotallthatIhadsetouttodo.Withthebenefit

ofhindsight,InowlookbackontheArtistinResidenceyearasatraininggroundand

foundationforthechallengeIhaveembracedthroughoutthethreeyearsofthisPhD

study.Iwantedmyworktochangeandgrowinadifferentdirection,andinanewway,

to counteract the overwhelming negativity of climate change debates. Taking my

artworkoutoftheframe,andthenoffthewall,intothreedimensionalinstallations,and

ultimatelyshortfilmsandartist’sbooks,allowedmetotransitionandactivelyexplore

moreuniqueandoriginalformsofartisticexpression.Myresearchraninparalleltomy

artisticexperiments,andIwasabletointegratealifelongpassionformeditationand

mindfulnessintotheworksastheyevolved.MyPhDstudyallowedanopportunityto

combine not just the earlier knowledge from the scientists at various international

botanicgardens,butfromrecentstudiesinneuroscienceandpsychologyabouthowthe

brain constructs emotional responses which flow through to the body. This thesis

describesmyjourney,whenthedooroftheRedBoxGalleryfinallyclosedbehindmeon

the last dayof the exhibition (Figure 1), and I had the strange feelingof a different

windowopeningupinmymind.Iwantedtoexpresshownatureandplantscanhelpus

tofeelandreconnect,notjustwhattheylooklike.Myworkseekstobringthatsensibility

ofsilentsentienceintopublicspacesinlessconventionalandnewways,toencourage

andenhanceourabilityforamoreconsideredreconnectionwithourownnatures,and

areflectiononpotentialloss,exploredthroughthelensofbiophiliaandbeauty.vi

1

Figure1.EmmaRobertson,Marketingmaterials,2009.Invitationandflyer,sizesvariable.AscendantandDescendantexhibitionattheRoyalBotanicGardenSydney(RBGS).

2

INTRODUCTION:Context

Throughout 2008 I workedwith the Royal Botanic Garden Sydney’s scientists, drew

pressed specimens in theHerbarium,explored the Library, visited theMountAnnan

Seedbank,andmostofall,walkedandtalkedinthegardenswiththepeoplewhocared

forandlovedtheplants.Everyone,itseemed,hadastorytotell,andIquicklylearned

thatagoodshortcutwastosimplyaskwhataperson’sfavouriteplantwas,andwhy.

Plants evoked many memories, and associations, and often passionate feelings of

protection for their endangered, vulnerable status. The then Director of the Royal

Botanic Garden Sydney, Professor Tim Entwisle, said in his speech to launch my

residencyyear,thatthereisaparalleltobemadebetweenpreservingartandplants:

Althoughwehavehadmajorextinctioneventsinthepast,theanimalsandplantswesharetheworldwithtodayaretheoneswehaveevolvedwithanddependuponashumans.Itistruethattheearthandlifearelikelytosurviveifwelosehalftheworld’sspecies,butwillwe?Bysendingspeciesextinct,wearewhittlingawayfurtheroptionsforthefuture–whatbenefitsareweforgoingifsomethinggoesextinct?Wedon’tknow.Wealreadyknowthecurrentworldpopulationcan’tsurviveontheresourceson earth today. On ‘ourwatch’wewill be responsible for destroying the uniqueproductsof3.8billionyearsofevolution.EachoneisasirreplaceableastheMonaLisa,ortheBuddhistrockcarvingsinAfghanistanin2001.Speciesareirreplaceable‘worksofart’inourhumanera.1

In hindsight, the scope of my original proposal to the Botanic Gardens Trust was

ridiculouslybroad.Iwasgoingtoresearchandproduceabodyofartworkrelatingtothe

world’scriticallyendangeredplants.BytheendofthefirstmonthasArtistinResidence

IhadquicklynarrowedmytopicdowntoAustralia’sendangeredplants.Bytheendof

thesecondmonthIrealisedthatthiswasstilltoobiginscope,andsoIdecidedtofocus

morespecificallyonthemanyendangeredplantsinNewSouthWales.Somedaysitwas

hard not to feel overwhelmed by the scale of the problem – if it was not human

habitation,itwaspollution,orintroducedspecies,ortheimpactofclimatechange.In

thelast200orsoyears,humanshavewroughtadevastatingimpactonAustralia’sflora

andfauna,ascitedinthisexcerptfrommypublishedcatalogue:

1TimEntwisle,speech,citedinEmmaRobertson,AscendantandDescendant,curatedbyEmmaRobertson(Sydney:BotanicGardensTrust,2009).Exhibitioncatalogue,1.

3

Since Australia was colonised in 1788, some 125 plant and animal species orsubspecies are known to have become extinct.Moremammals have died out inAustraliainthelast200yearsthaninanyothercontinent.Today,morethan360ofouranimalspecies,andaround1240speciesofplantsareconsideredthreatened.InNew SouthWales,more than 950 native plants and animals are threatened. ThechallengefortheNSWcommunityistohaltthedeclineofthesespeciesandassistintheirrecovery.2

Halfwaythrough2008,theSelectionPanelfortheArtistinResidenceprogramcameto

visitmeinmyhomestudio.Ihadbeenworkinghardandhadgenerateddrawingsand

tests for five distinct themes, and hoped somehow that the panel members might

respondtoonemorethananother.Ihadconcepts,andsubthemesandsketchbooksin

differentsizes,eachwithoptionsandversionsandwhat-ifs.Thepanelsaidthatthey

likeditall-andwishedmewell-andIwasultimatelylefttodecideonthefinalexhibition

contentmyself.

IfrequentlyfeltasthoughIwasdrowningincreativepossibilities,andthroughoutthat

yearofpracticebasedartresearchIfeltastrongobligationtomakeworkthatmattered,

and which would convey a sense of what I felt about the status of many of the

endangeredspeciesoffloraIhadstudiedanddrawn.Plantsarethepassiveandsilent

recipients of much abuse and misuse, and they do not have a face to engage our

sympathyinthewayanendangeredanimalspeciesmight.Whenaforestburns,we‘see

andfeel’theanimalsrunningfromtheflames,andsomehowforgetthatcopesoftrees

arefamilieswhocommunicatewithoneanother,andwhoarebeingdestroyed,too.3

My solo exhibition, Ascendant and Descendant tried to walk a fine line between

pessimism and hope. For every precious and beautiful, but now extinct Bennett’s

Seaweed,(Figure2)therewererediscoveredjoys,suchastheLivingFossilsseries.4

2Ibid.,citedinthecataloguefromtheDECCNSWThreatenedSpeciesWebsite,1.3AuthorPeterWohllebenencouragedreaderstolookandobservetheirlocalnativeforests,andhewrotethathisbookwas“alenstohelpyoutakeacloserlookatwhatyoumighthavetakenforgranted.Slowdown, breathe deep, and look around. What can you hear? What do you see? How do you feel?”Wohlleben eloquently described the special scent-language that trees use to communicate. He alsoremarkably documented his research regarding how trees defend, nurture, and socially support oneanotherwithinanetworkand‘family.’TheHiddenLifeofTrees:WhatTheyFeel,HowTheyCommunicate:DiscoveriesfromaSecretWorld(Vancouver:GreystoneBooks,2016),XI.4LivingFossils,asIwastoldona2008tourbyLynneCusack,anexpertGuideattheRoyalBotanicGardenSydney,arespecieswhichexistinourtimeinthesameorsimilarformastheirearlierfossilrecord.

4

Bennett’s Seaweed only grewonEarth in SydneyHarbour, andby the time thiswas

realiseditwastoolate.IncreatingthedrawinginFigure2,thetenpreciousspecimens

IstudiedlookedveryfragileintheHerbariumarchives,andtheywerebeautifulandstill.

Itwashardtoimaginethemastheymusthavebeen,vibrantandalive,movingunder

thesurfaceofthewater,andflowinginrhythmwiththewaves.

Figure2.EmmaRobertson,TheShapeofLoss,2009.Mixedmediadrawing,42x42cm.PrivateCollection.DrawnfromapressedHerbariumspecimenintheRoyalBotanicGardenSydney,oftheextinctBennett’sSeaweed,andalsoinspiredbyaquotefromColette:“Itistheimageinthemindthatbindsustoourlosttreasures,butitisthelossthatshapestheimage.”Bennett’sSeaweedonlygrewinSydneyHarbourandnowhereelseonEarth,andisthoughttohavebecomeextinctinthelate1800s(lastcollectedin1886).

TheWollemiPine(Figure3),wasoneofseveralendangeredLivingFossilsthatIdrewin

aseriescalledTheBookofHours.TheovalformatemployedinFigures3,4and5evoked

theearlierhistoryofVictorianmourningframes,whichweresometimescarvedoutof

jet(afossilisedtree),andwhichoftenfeaturedthesymbolicuseofflowersandplants.

5

Figure3.EmmaRobertson,WollemiPine,2009.Mixedmediadrawing,44x28cm.PrivateCollection.Oncethoughttobeextinct,adrawingoftherediscoveredWollemiPine,fromstudiesofpressedspecimensintheRoyalBotanicGardenSydney’sHerbarium,andfromfrondsamplesinmystudio.

Figure 4. EmmaRobertson,TheBook ofHours Series,2009.Mixedmedia drawings, each 44 x 28 cm.VariousPrivateCollections.FourofTheBookofHoursSeries,which featured twelvedouble imagesofendangered plants native to Australia, to represent the hours in a day, and themonths in a year, inVictorian inspired oval shapes. Mourning frames, used for pictures during the Victorian era weresometimescarvedfromjet,afossilised,blackenedwood.

6

Figure5.EmmaRobertson,Fossil,Amber,Ice,2009.Mixedmediadrawing,PrivateCollection.Fivepanelsinaseries,andeachpanelmeasured24x67cm.

7

Fossil,Amber,Ice(Figure5)alsousedthiscompositionaldevice,andadditionallyshowed

thatherbariumsdon’t justhavepressedplants,butalsocupboardsfullof fossils,and

otherfascinatingtreasures.TheuseoficeimagesintheartworkinFigure5honoured

someoftheremarkableseedsonEarth,whichcansurvivefrozendeepinthegroundfor

tensofthousandsofyears,andyetstillremainviableforfuturelife.5Theprogressionof

partlymeltediceintheright-handpanelsisalsorepresentativeofglobalwarming.Inthe

final exhibition, across twenty-seven mixed media drawings, I explored three main

themes–Archaeologies; amodern-dayBookofHours; andCollectors. TheworkThe

Archaeology of Now (Figure 6) showed the cast shadow of the critically endangered

EucalyptusCopulans.

Figure6.EmmaRobertson,TheArchaeologyofNow,2009.Mixedmediadrawing,38x58cm.PrivateCollection.Twodetailsareshownherebelowthemainimage.Behindthetreebranch,wordsfromapoembye.e.cummingsappearinfragments,includingtheline“forgettingme,rememberme.”

5RachelKaufman,“32,000-Year-OldPlantBroughtBacktoLife–OldestYet,”NationalGeographic,lastmodifiedFebruary23,2012,http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2012/02/120221-oldest-seeds-regenerated-plants-science/

8

Thedeviceofshadowsandsubtlyrendered,partlyerasedmarkssuggestedmemoriesof

thingsthathadoncebeenthere,butwhicharenowlostorforgotten.Selectedexamples

fromthisexhibitionformedthefoundationforthestartoftherecentbodyofcreative

workexploredinthisthesis,whichiscritiquedinthecontextofChapterFour.Bytheend

of the year, the catalogue was published, the card set had been printed, and the

exhibitionwas taking form6.As I stoodat theopening in2009, andobservedpeople

lookingattheartwork,IhadtherestlessfeelingthattherewassomethingmorethatI

neededtodiscoverinthefoldersofstoriesIhaddocumented,developedanddrawn.On

theopeningnight,IfeltsomehowdissatisfiedwiththeimagesIhadcreated.

Onememoryinparticularhascontinuedtocomeforward,overandoverinmymind’s

eyeintheyearssincethen:asmallunpublishedsketchbookofexquisitewatercolours

oflichenbythescientificillustrator,MargaretFlockton(1861-1953).Ihadspentalong

time lookingat,andadmiring thesestudies in theRoyalBotanicGardenLibrary,and

imagining Margaret’s careful objective observation of the subtle variations in the

lichens.Itwasnot,however,thescientificintentbehindtheillustrationsthatabsorbed

me,butthewayshehadrenderedthemoneachpage,almostlikefloating,abstracted

dreamscapes. Turning thepagesof the small sketchbook inmyhand leftme feeling

peacefulandcalm.Sheobservedatiny,unseenworldinmicrocosm,andherdrawings

andpaintingshavean innate,enduring,mindfulstillness. Ihadpreviouslyseenmany

photographsoflichen,butitwasviewingMargaret’sbeautifulstudiesthattransformed

howIfeltabouttheirfragility.OnmynextbushwalkIstoppedtolookatandadmirethe

plantsclingingtotherocksinanew,moremeditative,consideredandconnectedway.

Margaret’sstudies,createdwithadifferentaiminmind,changedhowInoticedandpaid

attentiontotheplants,andalteredthewayIfeltaboutthelichen,asIcarefullystepped

overthem.

Iamfascinatedbytheimpactthatartcanhaveinevokingemotions,andasawayof

reconnectingpeoplewithournaturalworld,eveninthemidstofurbanenvironments.

6ConsiderabletimewastakeninwritingtheAscendantandDescendantcataloguetoproduceastand-alonedocumentwhichcouldbeusedto further theaimsof theexhibitionafter itclosed.To thisendimagesacrosstwenty-fourpagesexploredingreaterdetailthebackstoryoftheplants.AsetoffourcardswerealsodesignedandsoldintheRoyalBotanicGardenSydneyshop,withannotationsonthereverseincludingtheplant’sname,andendangeredorextinctstatus.

9

An objective photographic study of lichen does not create the same intimate

associations inmymind as the feeling I getwhen I look at – andhold –Margaret’s

sketchbookofdrawings(Figure7).

Figure 7. Margaret Lilian Flockton, Unpublished Sketchbook, Lichens Illustrated, Book I: Parmelias,stictacea,cladonias,etc1905-1906.Pages8(top)and12(bottom),images22,23,24,32and33.DanielSolanderLibrary,RoyalBotanicGardenSydney,NewSouthWales.

10

Inintroducingthisthesis,thisisthefirstpointofdifferencebetweentheframedworks

Ipreviouslycreatedduringmyearlier2008-2009residency,andtherecentunframed

worksdescribedanddiscussedinChapterFour.Thisopportunitytoexamineandexplore

thepotentialofmyownartworkinanalternativeway,wasthestartingpointformy

practicebasedresearchproposalfouryearsago.

Using apracticebasedmethodology as theprimarymodeof enquiry allowedme to

includethesometimesintimateandoftenpersonalaspectsofartisticenquiry,including

howartisticdiscoveriescanemergespontaneously,andsometimesinspiteofourbest

laid plans. What we think we know, and what objective experience and subjective

memories emerge during the artistic process of creation, can influence the

communicationofevidenceandoutcomes.Theconsciousinterplayofthethinkingmind

andtheobservingmindasdescribed inmindfulnesspractice, ledmethrougha false

start,toadeeperandmorecreativelyengagedtrial-and-errorprocessthananyIhave

experiencedbefore,andthisisdetailedinChapterThree.

One of the key objectives of this research is to explore differentways to use drawn

images of endangered plants to enhance their ability to engage and connect with

audiences. This thesis proposes, in part, that reconceptualising static drawings into

alternative artistic forms, including whole-wall larger scale immersive installations,

movingimages,andartist’sbooks,canpotentiallyextendanddeepenholisticemotive

experiences for audiences, and can assuage feelings of anxiety in relation to climate

change.Theseartformscanalsobesharedinnon-traditionalplacesandinotherways,

whichisanotherobjectiveofthisresearch.

Recent surveys and statistics suggest that an increasing number of people are

disengagedinrelationtoglobalwarming,andavoidfocusingonorthinkingabouttheir

personalresponseandattentiontoclimatechange.7Yetthehumanspeciesneedstobe

integrated with nature more than ever before – ongoing and recent research into

7RachelMcDonald,HuiYiChai&BenNewell,“Personalexperienceandthe'psychologicaldistance'ofclimatechange:Anintegrativereview,”JournalofEnvironmentalPsychology,44(2015):109-118.

11

biophilia8 and ecopsychology9 continues to provide us with evidence of the positive

impactsthatbeingconnectedwithnature–andseeingimagesofnature–canbring,to

bothourphysicalandmentalhealth.Researchhasshownmeasurableprovenbenefits

suchasreducedbloodpressure,increasedimmuneresponses,andlowerdepressionand

anxiety.10 A 2015 study in the Netherlands, reported in the International Journal of

Environmental Research and Public Health, found that simply looking at still images

derivedfromnatureforfiveminutes,loweredcortisolandstresslevelswhencompared

toagroupviewingurbanimages.11Wearenotseparatefromnature–wearenature–

and exploring botanic gardens, herbariums and nature based archives through

interpretiveartwork,andextendingtheirreach,canpotentiallyimproveourhealth,and

provideawayofcreatingemotionalempathy,asatypeoftouchstone.

Masteryofamediumcansometimesgetinthewayofinnovationandnewknowledge.I

lovetheprocessofdrawingsomuchthatitgeneratesasenseoftimelessflowforme,

andgettingoutofmycomfortzoneandsacrificingthehard-wonmasteryIhadbuiltup

overmanyyearsofsuccessfulartisticpracticewasinitiallychallenginganddifficult.12The

original problem proposed in this study was how to communicate my ideas about

endangeredplantsinartisticwaysthathadnotbecomeexhaustedoftheircapacityto

elicit strong responses fromaudiences. Theescalating impactof climate change, and

negativeanthropogenicchangestoenvironments,isanimportantandtimelytopic,and

there is no shortage of materials and research references to explore, and this is

demonstratedintheliteraturereviewanddiscussioninChapterOne.13

8Theaffinityofhumanbeingswiththenaturalworld,asdefinedandpopularisedinthebookbyProfessorEdwardO.Wilson,Biophilia(CambridgeMassachusetts:HarvardUniversityPress,1984).9InternationalCommunityforEcopsychology,“AboutEcopsychology,”I.C.E.http://www.ecopsychology.org/about-ecopsychology/lastmodified2017,definesecopsychologyasthe“synergisticrelationbetweenpersonalhealthandwell-beingandthehealthandwell-beingofourhome,theEarth.”10AlexandraSifferlin,“TheHealingPowerofNature,”TimeMagazine,IssueJuly25(2016):24-26.11PrincipalInvestigatorandLeadAuthor,MagdalenavandenBergetal,“AutonomicNervousSystemResponsestoViewingGreenandBuiltSettings:DifferentiatingBetweenSympatheticandParasympatheticActivity,”InternationalJournalofEnvironmentalResearchandPublicHealth,v.12,Dec14(2015):doi:http://www.mdpi.com/1660-4601/12/12/15026&https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4690962/12EarlyoninmyPhDIpresentedataGraduateForum,andreceivedgood,constructivelycriticalfeedbackfrom three ofmy fellow students, Dr Tracey Clement, Dr Kath Fries, andMark Visione. Their honestcomments,andtheirowninsightfulpresentations,provedimportanttotheevolutionofmywork.13Anthropogenic:“of,relatingto,orresultingfromtheinfluenceofhumanbeingsonnature,”intheMerriam-WebsterDictionary,lastmodified2017,https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/anthropogenic

12

AswiththepreviousBotanicGarden’sresidencyworkdescribedinthePreface,toomany

optionspresented themselves at the start of this research, and itwas throughmore

rigorousquestioningthatIcametorealisetheongoingimportanceofmindfulmeditation

as a counterpoint to audiences’ potential anxiety. A process of integrative thinking,

whichcombinedareflectivemodelofopennesstofreshexperiences,observationofmy

ownprocesses,andobjectivityinviewingtheworkofotherclimatechangeartists,all

contributedtoconsolidatingthestructureandapproachtoresearchingandwritingthis

thesis.(Theapplieduseofopenness,observationandobjectivityasaresearchstrategy

arediscussedinmoredetailinrelationtotheworkofDrDanielSiegelinChapterThree,

andasdemonstratedbytheoutcomesofmyownartisticpracticeinChapterFour).

Plants

Withoutplantslifeonearthwouldnotexist:theyareacriticalcomponentoftheplanet’s

integratedandfinelybalancedecosystem.Whilelifeonearthwouldcontinuetoflourish

without thehumanspecies, it isunimaginablewithoutplants.Throughmillennia, the

humanspecieshasusedplantsforfood,fuel,medicine,andalsofortheirsymbolicand

culturalvalueinmythology,religion,andliterature.ThereisevenanevolvedLanguage

ofFlowers,which reached itsheyday in the repressedVictorianEra,wherebouquets

couldsaywhatspokenwordscouldnot.Plantsmarkspecialcommemorativedayssuch

as births, weddings, birthdays and funerals, and their diverse beauty and functional

necessity have been celebrated and championed bymany artists, in different times,

ways,andplaces.Conversely,someartistshaveappropriatedandusedplantsfortheir

ownpurposes,sometimeswithoutafullappreciationofwhattheycanmeanandconvey,

and this is analysedanddescribed inChapter Twoaspartof adiscussion relating to

selectedoverlapsbetweenscienceandartinregardstonaturalhistory.

Althoughplantsarediverseandwidespread,theyareincreasinglyatrisk.InAustralia,in

themore than200years sinceEuropeanoccupation, “more than60Australianplant

speciesarenowthoughttobeextinct,andover1180arethreatened.”14TheMillennium

SeedBankPartnershiphasworkedatWakehurstinEnglandsince2000,inapurposebuilt

nuclearproofedbuilding,toestablishaninternationalnetworkofresearchersacrossthe

14Noauthor,“FactSheet:ThreatenedAustralianPlants,”inThreatenedSpeciesandCommunitiesSeries,(NaturalHeritageTrust,AustralianGovernment:DepartmentoftheEnvironmentandHeritage,2015):1.

13

globe,whoworktopreservetheseedsoftheworld’smostcriticallyendangeredplants.

ThescientistsImetandtalkedwiththerehaveaclearperspectiveofnotif,butwhen,

extinctioneventswillescalate,whichisachallengingandconfrontingperspective.The

yearaftermyArtistinResidenceexperienceIwenttoLondonandspenttimeresearching

atKewRoyalBotanicGarden,intheirHerbarium,andalsoattheMillenniumSeedBank.

Iwasveryimpressedbythescaleofthelargestplantconservationprogramintheworld,

and by the botanists and other scientists I met who work there. Both institutions

prioritisetheirimportantworkwithartists–atKewthereisapurpose-builtartgallery,

andtheMillenniumSeedBankatWakehurstalsoprovidesseedsforartiststoworkwith

intheannual,national‘TheBigDraw’event.Theworkofartists,somehistorical,some

contemporary,andrelatingtoseedstories,isondisplayattheMillenniumSeedBank

gallery.15

Australia’s plants are particularly significant to the Millennium Seed Bank, as the

continent’sfloramakesup15%oftheworld’stotalspecies,with22%ofthoselistedas

underthreatofextinction.16ManyofAustralia’splantsareuniqueandonlygrowhere,

andnowhereelseintheworld.Inamongstallthepessimismarethreeplantswhichhave

beenrediscoveredinAustralia.Havingbeenthoughttohavebecomeextinct,theyhave

survived in increasingly small and remote pockets of land, in places previously

unsurveyed.Thesethreerediscoveredplantsare,however,stilllistedasbeingextinct,

sincetheyaresorareandendangeredthattheywereanecdotallydescribedtomebya

RoyalBotanicGardenSydneyseniorhorticulturistas“TheLivingDead.”17

15DuringmyprimaryresearchvisitstoWakehurstandKew,IspenttimewithDrWolfgangStuppy,theworld’sfirstseedmorphologist,whohascollaboratedoverseveralyearswiththeartistRobKesseler.Thetwo books of interpretive art images they have co-published have encouraged new non-specialistaudiences, and established a wider platform of understanding relating to seeds, fruits and plants ingeneral.Myowncollaborationswithbotanistsareanimportantfactorinexpandingmyresearch.16Noauthor,“FactSheet:ThreatenedAustralianPlants,”inThreatenedSpeciesandCommunitiesSeries,(NaturalHeritageTrust,AustralianGovernment:DepartmentoftheEnvironmentandHeritage,2015):1.17DuringmytimeasArtist inResidenceatRBGS, Iwashelpedbyseveralstaff,oneofwhom,DawsonOugham,aseniorhorticulturist,sourcedendangeredplantsamplesformetodrawfrom.Iselectedandcollectedthesewithhishelp,pressedtheminmystudio,andcontinuetousethespecimenstoday.Oneof“TheLivingDead”wasEucalyptusCopulans,whichappearsinFigure6,TheArchaeologyofNow,2009,and also later in its original form, in the three-dimensional Fisher Library installationworks, recentlycompletedin2017,seeChapterFour.

14

ResearchMethodology

Asmentioned in the Preface, in 2009 I held a solo exhibition, calledAscendant and

Descendant at the Royal Botanic Garden Sydney, in the Red Box Gallery beside the

Herbarium.ItshowedtheresultsofayearofresearchastheArtistinResidence,working

withthescientistsattheGardenonthepressingissueoftheincreasingimpactofclimate

change,anditseffectonendangeredAustralianplantflora.Theexhibitionwasasuccess

inatraditionalsense,withpositivereviews,workssold,andgoodattendancenumbers,

at both the exhibition and associated talks, tours and lectures, but when I left the

Garden, I felt thatmuchmoreneeded tobedone. The catalogue, carefullydesigned

acrossthreethemes,wasfiledawayinadrawer,andsometimesIwouldcatchsightofit

andwonder“Whatelsecould-ormight-thatideabe?”Iwantedtofindawaytoreturn

to,andfurtherextendtheresearch,inamorepersonallychallengingandoriginalway,

andtointegrateplantsmoredeeplyintotheideaofasustainableglobalecologywhose

meaning“mustbeexpandedtoincludeallpartsofnature(andnotjusthumanity)and

allowallofnaturetomeetitsownneeds,nowandinthefuture.”18

Twoyears later, in2011,avideo interview Ididwith IainMcCaig, theartistand film

designer, was listed on YouTube, and it was well received, with many encouraging

comments, up-votes, and direct feedback about its immediate (and in some cases,

ongoingandlasting)impactonthosewhowatchedit.Todatethevideohasbeenviewed

morethan83,000times,andatthebeginningofmyresearchprocessIstartedtothink

aboutthepotentialofvideototellthestoriesoftheplantsIhadresearched,andwhose

images Ihaddrawn.Duringmyyearat theGarden, Ihadprogressivelynarrowedmy

focus,firstfromgloballyendangeredplantspecies,thentoAustralianspecies,andfinally

justtothosemainlyinNewSouthWales.Evenwiththismorenarrowedfocus,toomany

stories and ideas presented themselves, and I struggled to leave some behind. The

imagesofmanyoftheplantsIresearchedanddrew,inmixedmediaartworks,proved

impossibletoforget,andIwantedtofindanotherwaytodomoretobringthescience

and statistics to life, inmemorable andmore action orientedways, and so initially I

proposed involving aspects of transmedia storytelling and video. Passionate as I am

18AnneChickandPaulMicklethwaite,DesignforSustainableChange:HowDesignandDesignerscanDrivetheSustainabilityAgenda(Switzerland:AVAPublishing,2011),79.

15

aboutartanditspowertotransformperceptionandhowwefeel,Ifeltthatrealistically

mydrawings,passivelypositionedonawall,somehowataremoveddistanceunderglass

werenolongerenough,whenthestakesfortheplantssurvivalwereincreasinglyhigh.

Earlyon inmyresearchandreading Ineeded,however, tochallengeandexploremy

initial assumption that storytelling acrossmultiple platformswas the right approach,

particularlyinregardstotransmedia.IrecognisedthatIhadapredispositionfrommany

yearsofacademicteachingtowanttomakethingsclear,andIrantheriskofadidactic

andpotentiallyprescriptive,obviouscreativeoutcome.DuringthefirstyearofmyPhDI

concurrentlyworkedwithasmallteamofcolleaguesatUNSWtocreateaMOOCtitled

TransmediaStorytelling,andthe influenceofmyacademicworkonthiscolouredthe

approachIwastakinginthefirststagesofmyresearchinanoverlydominantway.We

collaborativelywroteourownscripts,filmedvideos,andcreatedinterviewswithmany

well-known film industry professionals, and by 2017 the course had articulated an

interesting definition, and attracted more than 11,100 international enrolments.19

Similarly,myongoingacademicworkintheMasterofDesigndegreeatUNSWincluded

developingandteachingoriginalmodelsofthinking,andItried(andultimatelyfailed)to

findawayofintegratingthevariousmodelsIhadcreatedinparallelwork,backintomy

PhDresearch.Ihadtolearntoletgoofotherthingswhichinterestedme,includingmy

design oriented perspectives and training, in order to bring a genuinely intuitive,

authenticandappropriatelyreinvigoratedfocustomypersonalartworkpractice.This

wasinitiallydifficult.

ItultimatelyfeltasthoughIhadsteppedoutsideofmyownprocessesandobservedthe

way I thought andworked, in order to bring otherways of orientating and creating

alternativeimages.So,insteadofafocusedpre-setdesigned“model”ofthinking,Iused

adiffusedartpracticebased“mode”ofthinking.ThewayIapproachedmyresearchat

thebeginningshowedmytendencytothinkbasedonhowItaught,caughtupinmyown

beliefs,experience,rationaleandpredisposedwaysoflearning,withtherestrictionsand

19Aswecollectivelydefinedit,“TransmediaStorytelling:NarrativeWorlds,EmergingTechnologies,andGlobalAudiences”is“thepracticeofdesigning,sharing,andparticipatinginacohesivestoryexperienceacrossmultipletraditionalanddigitaldeliveryplatforms–forentertainment,advertisingandmarketing,orforsocialchange,”lastmodified2017,https://www.artdesign.unsw.edu.au/whats-on/news/transmedia-storytelling-narrative-worlds-emerging-technologies-and-global-audiences

16

inhibiting assumptions associatedwith this. It took some time over the first year of

intensivestudyandreading,toshedtheskinIwasin,andtoembracealesscertain,more

openlycreative,researchprocess.

As I started to come to grips with this process, I looked back through and

comprehensivelyreviewedmymanysketchbookscreatedoverseveraldecades,(shown

in Figure 8), and I objectively observed thatmy best ideas seemed to come from a

mindfulandmeditativecompleteimmersioninatheme,andnotfromapplyingamodel

ofthinkingIhaddesignedforadifferentpurposeandpublication,elsewhere.

Figure8.EmmaRobertson,progressivedocumentationandresearchinworkingdrawingsareanintegralpartofmycreativeprocess,andthisisdiscussedinmoredetailinChapterFour.Sketchbooks2014-2017,sizesvarious.

I already had a deep knowledge of the discipline of drawing, and I wanted tomore

activelydevelopthematerialformofmyownpracticeinquitedifferentwaysbybeing

criticallyreflective,andreviewingmysketchbookshelpedwiththisprocess.Makingwith

meaningtransformedandtransitionedmyknowledgeandunderstanding,andfacilitated

anunpredictable,personalself-awarenessinthemiddle,secondyearofmyresearch.I

learnedmoreaboutbiophilia,ecopsychology,mindsightandhowemotionalresponses

17

aretriggeredinthebrain,andIdevelopedinsightswhichallowedmetodevelopwaysof

bringingmydeeperunderstandingdirectlyintomyartwork.20

InthefinalthirdyearofmyresearchIrecognisedthatwhileTransmediaStorytellingwas

too prescriptive as a structure, the term Transmedia Artwasmore relevant, and, in

combinationwithabroaderunderstandingofEcoArt,theapplicationofthisknowledge

allowed for a diversification of my drawings with newly integrated media, and into

alternativeexhibitionspacesandplatforms,someofthemonline.Thistransitionallowed

myworktomoveintootherareas,usingapracticebasedresearchmethod.21Aspartof

thatmethodology I also initially incorporated a reflective practice approach,where I

generatedinsightsintomyowncreativeprocessesinordertochangemypracticefrom

somethingwhichhadbecomepredictable,tosomethingwhichenabledmetoquestion

myownassumptionsmuchmoredirectlyandcritically.Reflectivepracticehasasubtle

difference to practice based research, and a definition is provided here.22 The

overarching practice based research process I used, which flowed from my earlier

reflectivepractice,isdescribedinmoredetailinChapterFour.

OverviewofChapters

ThePrefaceandIntroductionsetoutthecontextandbackgroundtothisresearch,and

described the impetus and rationale behind the creative work, and its selected

methodology.Thisincludedanoverviewofplants,andstatisticsontheirendangeredand

atriskstatus,relatedtotheresearchthemes.

ChapterOneoffersafurthercontextformyresearchbyanalysingselectedaspectsof

climatechangeandexploringitsrelationshipwithendangeredplantsandart,andthisis

20Biophiliaandecopsychologyarepreviouslydefined.Mindsight isa termusedbyDrDanielSiegel todescribetheoverarchinginterrelationshipandintegrationofhumanperceptioninrelationtotheselfandothers,andthisisdiscussedinthisthesisinmoredetailinChapterThree.DanielSiegel,“AboutMindsight,AnIntroductiontoMindsight,”lastmodified2010,http://www.drdansiegel.com/about/mindsight/21AusefulandclearpracticebasedresearchdefinitioncanbefoundatCreativityandCognitionStudios,“Practice-Related Research,” UTS, last modified date unrecorded, accessed October 22, 2016https://www.creativityandcognition.com/research/practice-based-research/practice-related-research/22Havingreadanumberofdefinitions,theonemostapplicabletomyPhDresearchisfromtheInstituteofDevelopment Studies. They also describe reflective practice as including a participatorymethodofgeneratingnewideasandactionforsocialchange,andtheydefineReflectivePracticeJournals,whichapplies tomy sketchbook processes. Participation Research Cluster, “Reflective Practice,” Institute ofDevelopment Studies, last modified date unrecorded, accessed October 22, 2016http://www.participatorymethods.org/method/reflective-practice

18

integratedwithinaninitialLiteratureReview.Thisencompassesfourkeybooksfromthe

past and present, followed by a discussion of several exhibitions which include

substantiveaspectsofclimatechange,plantsandtransmediaart.Thisestablishesthe

relevantthemesandidentifiessomeaspectsofinterdisciplinaryresearchinthisthesis.

ChapterOneinitiallydiscussesfourbooksbyadvocatesforenvironmentalactionand

change,followedbyacriticalanalysisofsomerecentexhibitions,andanoverviewof

some other methods of visual communication, including films. This approximately

reflectstheprocessIfollowed,astherewasanintensiveperiodofreadingandresearch

atthestartwhichhelpedtoclarifywhatIdid–anddidnot–needtodo.Halfwaythrough

the PhD study I subsequently read two books relating to emotions, the brain, and

mindfulnesswhicharediscussedlaterinthethesisinChapterThree,andthisallowsthe

narrative structure of the thesis to appropriately and more clearly unfold. Where

relevant,I indicatethedirectimpactofsomeoftheliteratureonmyartpracticeand

creativeresearch.

Chapter Two explores and assesses the work of selected climate change and other

artists,withaspecificfocusonplants,drawings,andsomehanddrawnmovingimages.

Thiscriticallydiscussessomeoftheconceptsbeingexploredbyotherartists,including

theuseofscientificdiagramsandstatisticsonglobalwarming,andtheappropriationof

scientific illustrationsofplants.Myrationaleforchoosingtheseartistswastoexplore

andexaminecontemporarydrawingworksthroughthelensofEcoArt,andconsiderthe

differentwaystheirideasareconveyed.Thisdiscussionstartswithtwo,nowwell-known

earlyenvironmentalworks,byPeterDombrovskis,andChristo.Althoughneitherofthe

worksaredrawings,bothcouldbeconsideredearlyexamplesofTransmediaArt,since

the images were broadly disseminated across multiple platforms, including popular

media,atthetimeoftheircreation.Thefurtherconsiderationofthepotentialoverlaps

between Eco Art and Transmedia Art have helped the development of my creative

practiceinthisresearch.

ChapterTwothencontinueswithadiscussionoftwoAustralianartists,JohnWolseley

andJudyWatson,whobothusedrawingsasaprimarytechniqueintheirartisticpractice,

and who work with plants, and themes of endangered species and nature. This is

19

followed by a discussion of the environmentally driven artwork of Cornelia Hesse-

Honegger,whoisascientistbytraining.Herobservationaland interpretativeartwork

showsdrawingsofinsectsandplantsaffectedbynuclearreactorleaks,andtheoutcomes

were lauded by artistic communities, but criticised by some scientists. Both Hesse-

HoneggerandtheartistMichaelLandyactivelyusescientificillustrationandbotanical

methodsintheirartwork,andaseriesofdrawingsbyLandyarethendiscussedinthis

context.

Landy’sseriesissimilarinscaleandpenciltechniquetothedrawingsofManabuIkeda,

whoseworkwasexhibitedandfeaturedinboththeArtists+Climate=Changeexhibition

in2015,andthebookofthesamenamein2016.DavidBucklandhasworkedinmany

countries and with several artists to collaboratively increase understanding of

environmentalissues,andoneofhisworks,Shard,isincludedinthisChapter,alongwith

DebbieSymons’workAmazonia,andacriticalreflectiononthecollaborativedrawing

workMoonbyOlafurEliasson,andAiWeiwei.

Chapter Three discusses relevant recent research into mindsight, mindfulness and

emotional resonance, and explores the relationship of beauty in enhancing these

meditativetypesofmindsets.Itconsidersalternativemodes(notmodels)ofthinkingto

theprocessesIhadusedpriortothePhDresearch,andinvestigatestheoriesfromother

disciplines which I found applicable to integrate into my research framework. This

ChapterincludesreferencetothedrawingsandpaintingsofAgnesMartin.Heruseof

symmetry,simplicity,mutedcolourpalettes,repetition,harmonyandsimplegeometry

wasoriginallyinspiredbyherthoughtsabouttrees,andhermindfulapproachcreatesan

importantconnectionintomyownworkinthefollowingChapter.

ChapterFourdescribesandcriticallyanalysesmywork’svariousstagesofdevelopment,

andvisuallydemonstratestheimportanceofbeautyandnaturalformsinachievinga

senseofmindfulmeditationinthefinaloutcomes.Itoutlinestheevolutionofmyrecent

seriesofworks,andincludesasummaryofarecentprimaryresearchvisittotheRoyal

BotanicGardenEdinburgh,ScotlandinJuly2017.In2015,thefirstyearofmyresearch,

Mapping theMemory of theWorld was selected for exhibition at the International

BiennialofDrawing,andfeaturedinthebook,ADifferentPerspective:Artworkbythe

20

LaureatesoftheBiennialofDrawingPilsen,publishedlaterthatyear.Thisdrawingwas

thefirstofaseriesfeaturinganewlasercutpapertechnique,andwhileIwaspleased

withtheexhibitionoutcome,andsubsequentselectionforpublication,inretrospectI

cametoseetheworkasrevertingtomyowncomfortableconventions,particularlyin

regards to format and scale. The following year, 2016 a subsequent drawing, The

ArchaeologyofAbsencewasselectedfortheFutureStratigraphygroupexhibition.The

scale, format, technique and presentation of this much larger three metre square

drawingprogressedmyworkfurtherdownanalternativepathway,anditprovidedme

withamechanismtotestoutothercreativeideaswhichflowedfromthereadingIhad

undertaken,asdiscussedinChapterOne.

In2017,thethirdandfinalyearofmyresearchprovedthemostexperimental,andI

was given an amazingopportunity to publicly and iteratively playwith imagery as it

evolved,throughseveralsequentiallydevelopedthreedimensionalinstallations,which

includeddrawings,attheFisherLibrary,SydneyUniversity.Thefirstoftheselarge-scale

workswasRequiem(Red),andthiswaspresentedacrossthreefloorsofthelibraryin

glassfrontedvitrines.ThiswasfollowedbythesoloexhibitionandseriesofworksArt

andNature:AntidotestoAnxietylaterin2017,whichwasdisplayedinfivelargecases,

asaselectedpartofTheBigAnxietyFestival.AseriesofshortfilmsIdevelopedwhich

usedmydrawings (2016-2017)was selected to be shown in Canberra at theDrawn

Threads group exhibition at the Australian National University. The films were

accompanied by a circular two metre diameter installation drawing, using further

developments of the laser cut paper technique, and it featured twenty-four panels

floatingoutfromthewallsurface.Theconceptandexecutionforthisworkcamedirectly

frommyanalysisanddiscussionoftheappropriationofscientificillustrationsofplants

inChapterTwo,anditexploresendangeredplantimagery.

ChapterFouralsodescribesthedevelopmentofmywriting,whichcommencedwiththe

publication of a book chapter at the end of 2015, that helped me to identify the

increasingoverlapsbetweensomeformsofvisualcommunicationandfineart,andthe

relationshipofthistothecompositionaldevelopmentofmyownartwork.Inparticular,

Iresearchedconceptualschemasandmetaphoricandconceptualdiagrams,producing

two summary templates which influenced the approach I was taking to my own

21

artwork.23Mywriting culminated in2017witha journal articleTransitions:Biophilia,

BeautyandHerbariums for thepublicationUnlikely,withinaspecial issueonArtand

Herbariums,andalsoanarticleBiophiliaandBeautypublishedonlineintheinternational

website Artists and Climate Change. This article was subsequently picked up and

republishedbythewebsiteoftheUSbasedTheCenterforSustainablePracticeinthe

Arts(thisorganisationissubtitledAThinkTankforSustainabilityintheArtsandCulture).

TheUK basedArt.Earth.Org,part of theRANE network (Research in Art,Nature and

Environment)alsolinkedtothearticle,anditwasincludedwithinadescriptionoftheArt

and Nature: Antidotes to Anxiety exhibition at Sydney University. As a result of this

extensivecross-promotion,TheatreDirectorLeylaModirzadehatSanJoseCityCollege,

USAscreenedandusedbothmyfilmsintheClimateChangeTheatreActioninlate2017.

OtheroutcomesincludedProfessorAmandaBarnier,co-editor,whoselectedandused

the2016drawingTheArchaeologyofAbsenceonthecoverofthebookCollaborative

Remembering(OxfordUniversityPress,2017).Shesubsequentlyextendedaninvitation

to me, to illustrate the forthcoming Memory in the Head and in the Wild:

Interdisciplinarity inMemory Studies.The co-authors of this book, ProfessorAmanda

Barnier and Professor Andrew Hoskins have additionally suggested that my recent

drawings be included on the website supporting the book, which adds an extended

TransmediaArt component tomy series.Memory –whatwe remember, andwhy –

combinedwithclimatechange,presentsfurtherfuturepossibilitiesformyresearch.

Chapter Four visually documents various iterative creative outcomes throughout the

threeyearsofstudy,andrelatesthechallengesIfoundinchangingmyownsubconscious

predispositiontoworkinfamiliarandcomfortableways,andhowIultimatelyovercame

this.ChapterFourconcludeswithadescriptionoftwocommunitybasedworkshops I

taughtaspartofTheBigAnxietyFestivalattheRoyalBotanicGardenSydney:Drawing

fortheMind,andMakingwithMindfulness.Theseworkshopstookplaceatthesame

timeasthesoloexhibitionandseriesofworks,ArtandNature:AntidotestoAnxietyin

theFisher Library. TheConclusion followsChapter Four, andafter theBibliographya

CatalogueofWorkspresentedforexhibitionisincludedinAppendixA.

23EmmaRobertson,“ModelsofCreativeThinkingandProblemSolving:DesignDevelopment,ApplicationandUse,”inMovingfromNovicetoExpertontheRoadtoExpertise:DevelopingExpertiseintheVisualDomain,ed.ArianneRourkeandVaughanRees,(Illinois:CommonGroundPublishingLLC,2015),147-169.

22

CHAPTERONE:LiteratureReview

Chapter One contextualises my research by analysing selected aspects of climate

change,andexploringitsrelationshipwithendangeredplantsandart. Ifirstfocuson

fourkeybooksfromthepastandpresentbyadvocatesforenvironmentalactionand

change. Ithendiscussotherpublications,andfollowthiswithanoverviewofseveral

recent exhibitions that include substantive aspects of climate change, plants and

transmedia art, before concludingwith a brief discussionof someothermethods of

visualcommunication,includingfilms.

FourKeyBooks

Theoverarching context of this research relates to ecology and art, and in terms of

literatureinthesecomplexandbroadfieldsonebookinparticular,SilentSpring,1962

byRachelCarsonhasstoodthetestoftime.Thispioneeringpublicationisstillfrequently

citedbyartistsandothersasadirectandenduringinfluenceontheirwork.Ina2012

Virtual Exhibition, in the Environment and Society portal, author and Professor of

EnvironmentalHistory,MarkStollsummarisedthebroaderlegacyofCarson’sbookin

regards to its impact, not only on the environment, but on popular culture, music,

literatureandthearts.24InanothersectiontitledLegacy,Stollwrotethat“Everyoneof

thetoxicchemicalsnamedinthebookwaseitherbannedorseverelyrestrictedinthe

UnitedStatesby1975.”25

Remarkably,Carson’sbookhasremainedinprintoverthelastfifty-fiveyears,andthe

prominentenvironmentalistAlGore (formerVicePresidentof theUnitedStatesand

NobelPeacePrizewinner)wroteanewintroductiontothe1994editionofSilentSpring,

wherehecommentedthat,“SilentSpringhadaprofoundimpact…RachelCarsonwas

oneofthereasonsthatIbecamesoconsciousoftheenvironmentandsoinvolvedwith

environmentalissues.HerexampleinspiredmetowriteEarthintheBalance.”26

24MarkStoll,“RachelCarson’sSilentSpring,ABookThatChangedtheWorld,”Environment&SocietyPortal, last modified 2012, ISSN2198-7696, http://www.environmentandsociety.org/exhibitions/silent-spring/about-exhibition25MarkStoll,“LegacyofRachelCarson’sSilentSpring,”Environment&SocietyPortal,lastmodified2012,ISSN2198-7696,http://www.environmentandsociety.org/exhibitions/silent-spring/legacy-rachel-carsons-silent-spring26VicePresidentAlGore,quotefromtheIntroductiontoSilentSpring1994edition,xiii,ascitedbyMarkStoll, “Legacy of Rachel Carson’s Silent Spring,” Environment & Society Portal, last modified 2012,

23

Carsonremarkedontheimportanceofourecologicalrole,writingthat“Thebalanceof

natureisnotastatusquo;itisfluid,evershiftinginaconstantstateofadjustment.Man,

too,ispartofthisbalance.”27

Shereflectedinmuchofherwriting,andacrossseveralpublications,ontheaesthetic

importanceofbeautyinnature,anditsrelationshiptoengagingoursenseofwonderfor

theworld,whichshefeltwasimportantinfacilitatingaresonanthumanconnectionwith

ourenvironment.Asshedescribedit,“Oncetheemotionshavebeenaroused–asense

ofthebeautiful,theexcitementofthenewandunknown,afeelingofsympathy,pity,

admirationor love– thenwewish forknowledgeabout theobjectofouremotional

response.”28(ChapterThreeofthisthesisdiscussesandextendsthispointrelatingto

beauty, our connection with nature, and our emotional responses.) Making and

exhibiting artwork relating to environmental issues, has the potential to arouse the

desireformoreknowledgeandsympatheticunderstanding,oritcanconversely(often

unwittingly)servetodissuadeusfromfurtherengagement.

Carson’swritingwasbothpoeticandpopular: itsaccessibility issurelyafactor inthe

enduring popularity and widely embraced understanding of her ground-breaking

research.Shecouldhavewrittenaverydifferentbook,andthefactthatshedidnotget

lostinthescience,ormiredinthedetailsofstatistics,meansthatmanypeople,myself

included,wereabletoreadilyunderstand,andmorefullyappreciatetheimportanceof

the information and substantive arguments she described. She has a “one of us”

sensibility,andherrigorousresearch,argumentsandwritingareframedinsuchaway

thatwefeelsomehowobligatedtocare,andtodosomethingaboutourconcerns,as

shedid.

Before the book itself was published, it was serialised in three sections in TheNew

Yorker,andCarson’s(atthattimeunusual)useofthepopularpressasaformofcross-

promotionseemstobeafactorwhichalsoenhanceditswidespreadacceptance.Over

ISSN2198-7696,http://www.environmentandsociety.org/exhibitions/silent-spring/legacy-rachel-carsons-silent-spring27RachelCarson,Silent Spring,FortiethAnniversary Edition (Boston&NY:MarinerBook&HoughtonMifflinCompany,2002),218.28RachelCarson,TheSenseofWonder(NY:HarperCollins1998),56.(OriginallypublishedposthumouslyinaFirstEditionin1965).

24

severalyearsofresearch,IreadmanybooksonthethemesexploredearlyonbyCarson,

and the density of language and complexity in some acted as a barrier to my

understandingandengagement.Iwonderedifhermoreconversationalstyle,almostas

though the author was speaking to the reader personally and directly, affected the

longevityandveryreal,measurableimpactoftheresearchandwork.Itfascinatesme

thatwerateimpactinpartthroughstatisticsofcitationsinacademia,andyetthetrue

impactofCarson’ssimpler,directcommunicationhadanactiveandglobalreachand

influenceonpeoplefrommanywalksoflife,whichendures,decadeson,tothisday.

Inaddition toanemotionalandpassionateadvocacy fornature, severalculturaland

literary references throughout Carson’s book also help to make critical points and

interconnections clear. InChapter6,Earth’sGreenMantle, shedescribes the short -

sighted impactofsprayingtokillnaturalsageandreplace itwithplantedgrasslands,

whichhadthedoubleeffectofpoisoningtheanimalswhofedonsage,therebychanging

theecosystemandfinelybalancedrelationshipsbetweenendemicnativeplants,insects

andanimals.Forexample,theevergreensageprovidedwintergrazingfordeer,where

theseasonalgrassthathadbeenplantedasasubstituteinitsplacedidnot.

Also inChapter6,Carsonnotedthatonespeciesdoesnotexist in isolation,andthat

“The Earth’s vegetation is part of a web of life.”29 Carson’s descriptions frequently

broughtimagesandideasintomymind,andItestedaddingtransparentdrawingsone

ontopoftheothertocreateawebstructure,andtoformaninterplaybetweenmarks

fromurbanenvironments, juxtaposedwith the shapesof natural vegetation.Oneof

these initial test drawings from2015 can be seen in Figure 9, and this drawingwas

scannedandintegratedintothefirstoftwofilmsinthefinalyearofmystudiesin2017.

Carson’swritingadeptlymergesalyricalsensibilitywithanexactandjournalisticsense

ofreporting,andsoIsoughttobringthatcombinationandintegrateastrongerduality

intomydrawingsinsomeothervisualways.

The Test Drawing in Figure 9was the first drawingwhere I also experimentedwith

perforatingthepaper,byrunningasewingmachineneedleoverthesurfacewithoutany

29RachelCarson,Silent Spring,FortiethAnniversary Edition (Boston&NY:MarinerBook&HoughtonMifflinCompany,2002),64.

25

thread,andthistexturedeffectinthecentreofthedrawingremindedmeofCarson’s

descriptionsof chemical sprays, invisiblebutdeadly in the air. Themarks could also

suggestcarbondioxideintheatmosphere,andthiscreativedualityofpastandpresent

toxinsworkedeffectivelyinthelayereddrawingconstruction,andsoIextendeditinto

alarge-scaleinstallationdrawingforagroupexhibition(discussedinChapterFour).The

shapesoftheplantsinFigure9arestudiesofendangeredAustralianseaweeds.

Figure 9. Emma Robertson, Test Drawing exploring layers, webs, and an interplay between urbanenvironmentsandnaturalvegetation,2015,mixedmedia,30x42cm.Prior to the research in this thesis, Iwouldhavedescribedmy approach to creating

artworkaspredominantlyvisual.Formanyyears,Ihad,however,integratedthewords

ofpoetsintomydrawings,andIfrequentlytitledcompletedworkswithcombinations

ofwordsfromkeypoemswhichIoftenrevisited.TheworkofElizabethBarrettBrowning

ande.e.cummingsprovedparticularlyinspirational,whenIcompletedaseriesbasedon

objects, relationships, memory and loss over a period of several years. During the

research for this thesismy approach evolved and changed significantly, and I found

myself consideringmore inherently structural devices such as layering, as a way to

communicatemetaphoricideas,andthiscanalsobeseeninFigure9.

26

InChapter11,BeyondtheDreamoftheBorgias,Carsondescribedananalogyofthe

1960sasbeingliketheRenaissanceeraoftheBorgiafamilieswhopoisonedoneanother

to assertively resolve their disputes. Her narrative and description of “the age of

poisons”directlyinspiredtheinstallationartworkbyMarkDion,TheMuseumofPoison,

in2000, showing theenduring influenceofCarson’sbook, thirty-eightyearsafter its

originalpublication.30InChapter17,titledTheOtherRoad,Carsoncreatedavividvisual

pictureinherdescription“Westandnowwheretworoadsdiverge.Butunliketheroads

in Robert Frost’s familiar poem they are not equally fair.” She then extends the

metaphor, “The road we have long been travelling is deceptively easy, a smooth

superhighwayonwhichweprogresswithgreatspeed,butatitsendliesdisaster.The

otherforkoftheroad–theonelesstravelledby–offersourlast,ouronlychanceto

reachadestinationthatassuresthepreservationoftheearth.”31

Thechoiceofwhichdirectionweconsciouslychoosetotakeisemphasisedthroughout

the book, and Carson carefully and systematically articulated the short sighted and

irresponsible abuseof theenvironment that thewidespreaduseof chemicals in the

1960screated.Infindingandadvocatingforalternativestotheirprolificandwidespread

use,Carsonwasultimatelysuccessfulinher“journey,”althoughshetragicallydiedof

cancerbeforesheknewthatthedestinationattheendofthe“lesstravelledby”road

hadbeenreached.

Carson’sresearchnotonlydirectlyinfluencedmyartwork,butalsothewayIapproached

writing,andhowIframedmyresearch.32Carson’seloquentandpowerfullypersuasive

writing, in Silent Spring and other publications, gave me a hopeful sense that

emphasisingbeautyandourownneedto integrateourselveswithnaturewerevalid

perspectives.Ascanbeseenbythepositiveandproactiveoutcomeswhichflowedfrom

Silent Spring, including new laws and regulations, when people are persuaded that

personalactionandadvocacyisnecessary,changecanhappen.

30Ibid.,173-184.31Ibid.,277.32Inadditiontoherinfluenceonmyownartwork,andonMarkDioninTheMuseumofPoison,theongoingeffects of Carson’s book were felt by several other artists including Alexis Rockman, who haveacknowledgedherdirectimpactontheirartwork.MarkStoll,“SilentSpringinLiteratureandtheArts,”Environment&SocietyPortal,lastmodified2012,ISSN2198-7696,http://www.environmentandsociety.org/exhibitions/silent-spring/silent-spring-literature-and-arts

27

The Limits toGrowth byDonellaMeadows, published in 1972, ten years afterSilent

Spring,hadasimilarlywidespreadinfluence.Meadowsworkedonsustainabilityissues

throughout her life, from the book, to founding the first international ‘network of

networks’ toaddressproblemsandchallengessheandherco-researchers identified,

whichincludedenvironmentalconservationandactivism.Meadowspublishedaweekly

column‘TheGlobalCitizen’upuntilherprematuredeathin2001.Inherwritings,she

walkedacarefullinebetweenchallengingpeopletothinkanddomore,andtonotgive

uphope.Meadowsremindedusthat“Asustainablesociety…couldbeaworldthathas

thetime,theresourcesandthewilltocorrectitsmistakes,toinnovate,topreservethe

fertilityofitsplanetaryecosystems.Itcouldfocusonmindfullyincreasingqualityoflife

rather than on mindlessly expanding material consumption…”33 As described by

Meadows,thedistinctionofamindfulapproachtoincreasingthequalityoflifeofour

planetaryecosystems, ispertinentandrelevanttothe interconnectedthemesofthis

thesis. The overarching question, “What can I do, now?” was implied not just by

Meadows,andCarsonbeforeher,butbyotherauthorsdescribedinthisChapterand

thesis.

Climatechangeisahugetopic,andthescaleofthechallengebeingfacedbyhumankind

asitstrugglestocomprehendandaddressglobalwarmingisenormous.Itcanbeeasy

tofeelfatiguedbysteadilyworseningreportsandpredictions,butfeelinghelplesswon’t

solve or change anything, a proactivemindset communicated bymany authors and

artistswhoresearchinthisrapidlyevolvingfield.Goingthroughnegativeemotionsand

anxiousfeelingsmyselfintheinitialresearchstages,IcametotheviewthatIdidnot

wantmywork to contribute to apotential disengagement in those Iwas seeking to

touch.In2001,inaposthumouslypublishedonlineessaywrittenbyDonellaMeadows,

shearguedthat“Thereistoomuchbadnewstojustifycomplacency.Thereistoomuch

goodnewstojustifydespair.”34

In1995,inherweeklynewsletterMeadowsproposedadefinitionofsustainabilitywhich

ispertinenttotheaimsofthisthesis:“Icallthetransformedworldtowardwhichwecan

33DonellaMeadows,JorgenRanders&DennisMeadows,LimitstoGrowth:The30-YearUpdate(VermontUS:ChelseaGreenPublishing,2004),12.34DonellaMeadows,“TheStateofthePlanetisGrim.ShouldWeGiveUpHope?”GristMagazine,Inc.,lastmodifiedApril20,2001,http://grist.org/article/out2/

28

move“sustainable,”bywhichImeanagreatdealmorethanaworldthatmerelysustains

itselfunchanged.”Shethenadded,“Imeanaworldthatevolves,as lifeonearthhas

evolvedforthreebillionyears, towardsevergreaterdiversity,elegance,beauty,self-

awareness,interrelationship,andspiritualrealization.”35Thisquoteincludesanumber

ofthemesinmyresearch,anditisparticularlyinterestingtoseeMeadowsreferencean

evolution towards greater self-awareness, andmindfulness. Like Carson before her,

Meadowsfurtherframesthisinregardstobeautyandinterrelationships,andthesealso

applytoseveralkeydiscussionsinthisthesis,assetoutinChapterThree.

Inthefaceofthecomplexityofclimatechangeissues,thesameimplied“WhatcanIdo,

now?” question has provokedmy research, mademe ask different questions, and

requiredmetoonceagainnarrowmyfocus,but this timeto fillvariousgapsandto

strengthensomeweakconnectionsthatIperceiveexistincurrentartbasedresearch.

Onegapismyobservationthatthereisaprevalentandincreasingpredispositionfora

numberofartiststoproduceworkwhichrisksalienatinganddissuadingtheiraudience

through theprovocativeuseofdisturbinganddistressing images.Anothergap ismy

observation that some artists use scientific statistics and natural history images in

appropriations which can disregard their original context, thereby weakening and

diminishingtheimportanceoftheirintegrity,sourceandcontent.Notjusttheplants,

butalsoearlierartistswhohavestudiedplantsdeserveourrespectandconsideration.

BoththesegapsarecriticallydiscussedinChapterTwo.

In2014asIpreparedmyPhDproposal,itseemedasthougheverywhereIlooked,new

bookswerebeingpublishedandnewfilmswerebeingproducedonthetopicsofglobal

warming and climate change. By 2016, the best-selling book in the Environmental

SciencecategoryonthewebsiteAmazonwasTheSixthExtinction:AnUnnaturalHistory

bythejournalistElizabethKolbert,publishedin2014.Itwonthe2015PulitzerPrizefor

General Non-Fiction writing. Kolbert presented compelling evidence from peer-

reviewedsciencepublications,whichestimatedfloraandfaunalossbytheendofthis

centurytobebetween20%to50%ofalllivingspeciesonearth.

35DonellaMeadows,“DefinitionofSustainability,”SustainabilityLeadersNetwork, lastmodified1995,http://www.sustainabilityleadersnetwork.org/definition-of-sustainability/

29

KolbertdescribedtheevolutionandinterdisciplinaryadoptionoftheAnthropocene,our

epoch, where human activities have had a significant global impact on Earth’s

ecosystems,manyofthemirreversibleandleadingtospeciesextinction.Ournegative

changestoourownenvironment,asshepointedout,willbereadasamarkerinthe

layersofgeologicaltimeinthefuture.Kolbert’sdescriptionsofobservinglayersofrocks

marking previous periods of extinction, directly influenced several drawings I was

workingon,andonetestpiece,showninFigure10,hasfive“extinction”linesasstrata

underneatharepeatedimageofanendangeredAustralianseaweed.

Figure10.EmmaRobertson,TestDrawing,showingfivestratalayersinrockinthebackground,withanimageofanendangeredAustralianseaweedintheforegroundtorepresentthesixthlayer,2015,mixedmedia,45x60cm.

Thesixth,finallayerofgeologyinthedrawing,isaplantatriskofextinctionfromour

owntimeandepoch.Kolbertdescribedusingherfingertohookintoandloosenapiece

30

ofrockfromadistinctlayerofgeologicalstrata,andIvisualisedatimelineandsequence,

wherehumankindbecomesjustasmalllineinthemuchbiggerhistoryofearthtime.

ThebookTheSixthExtinctionalsoledmetoresearchfossilplantimagesmoreclosely,

buildingonwork startedpreviously.Kolbertoften conveyeda journalistic senseof a

deepercontextandstory,andasIreadherbookIreconsideredwhatfossilfuelsactually

are–compressedtrees,changedbytime.Lookingatpiecesofcoal,thebranchesand

linesoftheplantsareoftenstillvisible,andtheyhaveaninertsenseofbeingheldby

timeinanalteredstate,andthisideainspiredme.

Kolbert’sstyleofwritingwasscientificandstatisticallygroundedinfact,yetitwasthe

intimacyofthestoriesshetoldwhichprovedmostmemorableforme,suchasthethings

she found happening, and observed changing, in her own backyard. Reading about

Kolbert’sdismayandincreasingconcernwasamovingandmotivatingexperience.Her

mindfulanddeeplypersonalbookchangedmyperspective,andledmetoconsiderthe

more deliberate integration and inclusion of other aspects of my own life, such as

mindfulnessandmeditation,whichIhadpreviouslyfeltwereunrelatedtomyresearch.

Kolbert showedmethatyoucanvalorisepersonalexperiencewhile still retainingan

objectivity,andthatcombinationhadasimilarimpacttothepoeticstyleIadmiredin

Carson’searlierwriting.

Kolbertdescribedthroughoutherbook,howtheboundariesofherownknowledgeand

understandingevolvedandshiftedasherresearchdeepened,andIbecameinterested

in the ideaofamore interdisciplinaryapproach, integrating science informationand

statistics, as a result. Kolbert explored in Chapter 8, The Forest and the Trees, how

difficultitisforplantstoadapttoclimatechange,duetotheirfixedmobilityandinability

torelocatetonewareasinshort,orevenlongtimeframes.Thisispredictedtobean

ongoingissueinfuturespeciesextinction.Shedescribedthecomplexitiesofecological

communitiesofspecies,andtheirnuancedinterrelationships,whereadisruptivechange

toanecosystemhasawaterfallordominoeffect,with theextinctionofonespecies

impactingonanother.IwasparticularlyinterestedinKolbert’soverviewoftheuseof

species-areamodellingtoscientificallymaprelationships,andthishadadirectinfluence

on my artwork. The compositional arrangement of The Archaeology of Absence,

exhibitedin2016,andLivingFossils,exhibitedin2017,bothshoweddifferentaspects

31

ofsciencebasedspecies-areamodelling.TheseareillustratedanddiscussedinChapter

Four.

KolbertextendedthisdiscussionfurtherinChapter9,IslandsonDryLand,whereshe

describedthefragmentationofspecieswhichoccurswhenpocketsofecosystemsare

isolated from one another. More than 30 years ago in 1979, an experiment was

established by Thomas Lovejoy, where pockets of land isolated by human clearing

practices were studied, and the ecological changes progressively documented.

AccordingtoKolbert,“thesedayseverywildplacehas,toonedegreeoranother,been

cut intoandcutoff.Andthis iswhatmakesLovejoy’sforestfragmentexperimentso

important. With its square, completely unnatural outline, Reserve 1202 represents,

increasingly,theshapeoftheworld.”36Readingabouttheconceptoffragmentationfor

thefirsttimeinKolbert’sbook,alsoinfluencedthecompositionsofseveralnewpieces

of work, in connection with the species-area modelling ideas, and this is discussed

furtherinthisthesisinChapterFour.Ihadalreadymovedawayfromthesquareand

rectangularframeswhichwereprevalentinmy2009AscendantandDescendantsolo

exhibition,andKolbert’sdescriptionsofsquare,cutoff,forestfragmentsmotivatedme

toconsiderandexplorenaturalsystemsandformsmoredeliberatelyandconsciously.

InChapter10ofTheSixthExtinction,KolbertdescribesTheNewPangaea,andtellsthe

storyofafungus,unintentionallyintroducedbyhumansonimportedJapanesetreesto

NorthAmericaintheearly1900s,whichhadadevastatingimpactonnativeAmerican

chestnuttrees.Bythe1940sinexcessof4billionchestnuttreeshaddiedacrossthat

continent,withthefungusalsosubsequentlyspreadingtoItaly.Kolbertdiscussesthe

negative impactthattravelandincreasedglobaltradearehavingonspeciesthatare

being geographically redistributed, sometimes with devastating consequences for

nativespecies.Chapter10extendsKolbert’sidea,introducedinherbookinChapter1,

that invasivespecies, includingweeds,areamechanismofextinctionunintentionally

promotedbyhumansasnaturalbarriers(suchasvastoceansbetweencontinentsand

mountainranges)arebreached,andastheirclimateschange.

36ElizabethKolbert,TheSixthExtinction(NewYork:Picador,2014),175.

32

Pangaeawasthemassivecontinentthatbrokeaparttoformthecontinentsweknow

today; inKolbert’sanalysis,thenewPangaeaisaworldwithoutnatural impediment,

whose climate is rapidly changing, and which sees invasive species, viruses and

pathogensattackfloraandfauna(includinghumans)alike.Followingthedevastationof

Americanchestnuttrees,inmorerecenttimesotherplantssuchasash,hemlock,elm

andwalnuthavebeensimilarlyandnegativelyimpactedinothercountries.AsKolbert

comments, “…we are, in effect, reassembling the world into one enormous

supercontinent–whatbiologists sometimes refer toas theNewPangaea.”37 I found

Kolbert’s writing frequently suggested visual imagery, and inspired alternative

compositional ideas, particularly regarding thewall installations I completed for the

glassvitrinesintheFisherLibraryin2017,andthisisdetailedinChapterFour.

Kolbert’sinterpersonalcommunicationstyleandcallforactionwasusedinadifferent

way inanotherbookpublishedbyNaomiKlein inthesameyear,2014,ThisChanges

Everything:CapitalismvsTheClimate.Atthesametimeasdiscussingmanyaspectsof

climatechange,Kleinalsodescribedtheparallelandpersonalstoryofherattemptsto

haveachild,andhowshefelt thatthestressofher life,and living inpollutedurban

environmentsinhibitedherfertility.Insomeways,thiswasasmallsidestorytohermain

discussiononthenegativeinfluenceofcapitalismontheenvironment,butthepersonal

anguishshedescribedresonatedwithme,andIfoundthebookhadagreaterandmore

memorableinfluenceonmyworkasaresult.Ifeltatseveralstagesoverthelastfew

yearsthatlearningmoreaboutclimatechangewastoomuchforme,andIultimately

concludedthatifNaomiKleincouldcontinuetostandandbecountedwhilejugglingher

ownwork-lifebalance,thensocouldI.

Thisbookhaswonseveralawardsandaccolades,andhasbeenwellregardedinreviews,

with theNewYorkTimesBookReviewofKlein’spublicationalso referring toRachel

Carson’swriting, anddescribingThis Changes Everything as “…themostmomentous

environmentalbook since ‘SilentSpring.’”38 I found it rigorously researchedandwell

written, ifa littleoverwhelmingandsometimesfragmentedin itsscope.Thewebsite

37Ibid.,208.38Asquotedinthewebsite,sourcecitedasNewYorkTimesBookReview,NaomiKlein,“ThisChangesEverything,”lastmodified2017,https://thischangeseverything.org/book/

33

that supports the book came afterwards, and it is also a well-designed resource.

Subsequent to this, the documentary that flowed from the book and website was

releasedin2015.ThefilmandthewebsiteforThisChangesEverythingdosomething

thatthebookdoesnot,whichistofocusonthemanypositiveinitiativestakingplacein

communitiesaround theworld, and these include someart-basedpractices. For this

reason,thewebsitewasmorevisuallyengagingandcontextuallyusefultothisresearch

in its initial stages, than the book itself. The website and film leftme feelingmore

optimistic,overall.

Accordingtoitspublicity,“Unlikemanyworksabouttheclimatecrisis,thisisnotafilm

that tries to scare the audience into action: it aims to empower.”39 It went on to

commentthatthefilmwas“accessibletoeventhemostclimate-fatiguedviewers”and

as a result of interacting with Klein’s work across multiple platforms, I started to

reconsidermyownresponses,specificallyattheendofthefirstyearofmyresearch

whenIhadstartedtofeelasenseofoppressionandhopelessness.40Atonepointatthe

endofthatfirstyear,Ideliberatelystoppedreadingforamonth,andwentbackintothe

studio, to try to relieve the senseof depression I felt after surveying a considerable

number of books and articles on the negative impacts of climate change and global

warming.My need to retreat from the overwhelming doomsday statistics is not an

unusual response; Klein analyses and describes her own experience in a particularly

interestingsectionofthebook.

Kleinassertivelysetsoutseveralcommonhumanresponsestoclimatechange:welook

awayandavoidthinkingaboutitbecauseitmakesusuncomfortable;wepsychologically

andselectivelydenyitsimpact;andwechooseto:“Rememberandthenforgetagain.

Climatechangeislikethat,”Kleinwrites,“it’shardtokeepitinyourheadforverylong.

We engage in this odd form of on-again-off-again ecological amnesia for perfectly

rationalreasons.Wedenybecausewefearthatlettinginthefullrealityofthiscrisiswill

changeeverything.Andweareright.”41

39NaomiKlein,“ThisChangesEverything–TheFilm-About,”lastmodified2017,https://thefilm.thischangeseverything.org/about/40Ibid.41NaomiKlein,ThisChangesEverything:Capitalismvs.TheClimate(NewYork:Simon&Schuster,2014),4.

34

In her own footnotes to this section Klein added further information to extend her

discussion ofwhy some people seem to side step and avoid thinking about climate

change,andshesuggestedfurtherreadingsinthreeadditionalpublicationsconnected

to denial, and related to relevant sociological and psychological perspectives. This

provokedbothmyowncuriosityandalsoinfluencedmypersonalchoicesandactions.

FormorethantwoyearsafterreadingKlein’sbookandwebsite,inparalleltomyartistic

process I challengedmyself to changewhat I personally could control. I reducedmy

wardrobebymorethanhalfbydonatingtocharity;Irecycled,reusedandrepurposed

many personal items; I bought nothing new, and I carriedmy recycledwater bottle

wherever Iwent. Ihaveneverownedamobilephone, firewallingmyownemotional

responsesandpredispositiontoanguishandanxietyinresponseto24-hour-news-feeds,

andsomesuperficial socialmedia.Asa resultofdeeper reading,andKlein’sbook in

particular, I started to more carefully and closely consider what we culturally pay

attentionto–andwhy.42

PsychologistandProfessor,DanielGilbertfromHarvardUniversity,earlierarguedthat

climatechangeisnotperceivedasarealhumanthreat,becauseitisnot“intentional,

immoral, imminentand instantaneous.”43This ismirrored inKlein’s laterwritingand

research-sinceclimatechangedoesnotthreatenourimmediatewell-being,weallow

ourselvestoavoidthinkingaboutit,denyitsimpact,andconvenientlyforgetourown

responsibilities. I could see that climate change was an unfortunate by-product of

human influence, andnot adeliberate, immoral affront, but the researchofGilbert,

Kleinandotherssuggeststhatthisknowledgeinhibits,anddoesnotenhanceourability

toactandmakepositiveprotests.WhileIrealisedinreadingKlein’sbookthatIdidnot

wanttofocusoncapitalismanditsimpactonglobalwarming,converselyIrecognised

42Thisisechoedinanotherpublication,asProfessorofCulturalTheory,MalcomMileswentthroughasimilarprocessofpersonalreduction,andwroteaboutthesimplificationofhislifeandglobalfootprintinhis2014bookEco-Aesthetics:Art,LiteratureandArchitectureinaPeriodofClimateChange.HequotessociologistJohnHolloway,whowrote,“…thereisnopre-existingcapitalism,thereisonlythecapitalismthatwemaketoday,ordonotmake.Andwechoosenottomakeit.Ourstruggleistoopeneverymomentandfillitwithanactivitythatdoesnotcontributetothereproductionofcapital.Stopmakingcapitalismanddosomethingelse,somethingsensible,somethingbeautifulandenjoyable.Stopcreatingthesystemthatisdestroyingus.Weliveonlyonce;whyuseourtimetodestroyourownexistence?Surelywecandosomethingbetterwithourlives.”MalcolmMiles,Art,LiteratureandArchitectureinaPeriodofClimateChange(London&NewYork:BloomsburyAcademic,2014),7.43DanielGilbert, ”It’s theEndof theWorld asWeKnow It, and I Feel Fine,”HarvardThinksBig, lastmodified, March 1, 2011, https://news.harvard.edu/gazette/story/2011/03/harvard-thinks-big-its-the-end-of-the-world-as-we-know-it-and-i-feel-fine-daniel-gilbert/

35

thatthedepressionIfeltwhenIfinishedherbookneededsomesortofantidoteand

deeper personal engagement from me, and this insight proved very useful to the

directionmyresearchthentook,andthisisexpandedinChaptersThreeandFour.

Later inThis Changes Everything, Klein comments that climate change is not just an

“issue” that we should worry about. “It is a civilizational wake-up call. A powerful

message–spokeninthelanguageoffires,floods,droughts,andextinctions–tellingus

thatweneedanentirelyneweconomicmodelandanewwayofsharingthisplanet.

Tellingusthatweneedtoevolve.”44Iassertthattheneededevolutioncouldpartlycome

fromamoremindfulreconnectionwithnature,andthatartthatexploresthelanguage

ofbeauty,togetherwiththelanguageofplants,mayhelpustoperhapsreconsidersome

ofourintentionsandreviewourperspectives,andthisisdiscussedfurtherinChapters

TwoandThree.

OtherPublications

The writing of Carson,Meadows, Kolbert and Klein promoted a solo narrative, and

clearly individual perspectives, and all four authors brought aspects of investigative

journalismtotheirbooksandarticles.Someotherpublicationswhichfocusonecology

and the environment from an artistic perspective have taken amore collective and

collaborativeapproach.In1992thebookArtforSurvivalhighlightedtheworkofglobal

artists who were involved in issues of sustainability.45 It was one of several such

initiatives,whichrepresentedacollectivechangetotheapproachtakenbyartistsand

designers, when engaging with issues such as the impact of climate change. The

publicationcoincidedwiththefirstEarthSummit,andwasaccompaniedbyanexhibition

sponsored by the United Nations Environmental Protection Program,which focused

specificallyonenvironmentalthemes.Assuch,itwasoneofthefirstofwhatbecame

knownas‘ecobooks’.Itleftastrongimpressiononmeatthetime,asIhadstartedto

questionmyownpurposeandcareerasanartistanddesigner.Thisindirectlyledtoa

muchmoreactiveinvolvementinthethemeofsustainabilityinmyongoingartpractice,

and a renewed focuson endangeredplant species.When I revisited thebook itself,

44NaomiKlein,ThisChangesEverything:Capitalismvs.TheClimate(NewYork:Simon&Schuster,2014),25.45MartinPederson,ArtforSurvival(USA:UNEPAgency,GraphisInc.,1992).

36

however,Irealisedthatitisveryvisuallybased,anddoesnotcritiqueorcontextualise

theuseoftheimagesitincludes,althoughtheyareorganisedacrossgeneralsubthemes

whichhelpsclarifythecontent,overall.Inmostcasestheimagesincludedinbooksshow

the artwork at amuch smaller than life size scale, so it seems important to actively

considerwaysthatthetextcanenhancethenarrative,sincetheworkitselfisvisually

diminished.

It is somewhat surprising that twenty years later this more generalist approach

continuestoinformsomemorerecentpublications,suchasToLife!EcoArtinPursuitof

aSustainablePlanet,(2012)byLindaWeintraub,wheretheformatisblackandwhite

withnocolour.Thisbookfeaturestheworkof47artists,categorisedintothe20thand

21stcenturies.46Ofthese,4arelistedasbeingpartnershipsorcollaborations,andeach

artistgetsapproximatelyfivepagesallocatedtodiscussionsoftheirwork.Thebookmay

have benefitted from some attempts to cross-compare or critically discuss and

recontextualisethemanydifferentapproaches.Aselevenquitedifferentartmediums

areincluded,theresultisasometimesconfusingseriesofunrelatedartisticexpressions,

not only on climate change responses, but also relating to the evenwider ‘eco-art’

theme. As with some of Klein’s book, the scope is overwhelming, and rather than

inspiringafeelingofwantingtodosomething,formeatleast,itachievedtheopposite,

and I was left with the impression of a confused and curiously unemotional visual

communicationintheToLife!bookasawhole.

TheNaturalWorldMuseumpublishedabookin2007,ArtinAction:Nature,Creativity

andOurCollectiveFuture, including theworkof79artistsacross fivesubcategories,

Celebrate, Reflect, Interact, Protect and Act. Of those 79 artists, just 7 listed are

partnershipsorcollaborations,which,togetherwithToLife!suggeststhatmanyartists

tendtoseetheirpracticeasasoloendeavour.LikeToLife!,thescopeofthebookiswide

ranging,anditseemsmorereminiscentofawebsitewheremanyartistsarelistedas

sources,ratherthanwithinacriticallydiscussedoverview.InherAfterwordessay,Mia

Hanak,FoundingExecutiveDirectoroftheNaturalWorldMuseum,observesthatthese

46LindaWeintraub,ToLife:EcoArtinPursuitofaSustainablePlanet(Berkeley,CA:UniversityofCaliforniaPress,2012).

37

works “…range from glorifications of nature to political critiques to explorations of

contemporary issues such as pollution, endangered species, global warming or

sustainableenergy.”47Thisbookwasusefulinthatitsuggestedcontactsandavenues

for further research, but the brevity of the discussion of each artist and their work

precludedanysenseofthecriticaldialoguethatthebookclaimedtobeinitiating.There

seemstobeanodddividebetweenbooksthatarepredominantlyvisual,likeToLife!,

andArtinAction,andthoselikeCarson,Meadows,KolbertandKlein’snarratives,which

have few images at all. In someways this puzzlesme, sinceKlein’smainmethodof

promoting her book is through a highly visual and interactivewebsite, that includes

videoillustrationsofwhatsheverballydescribesinherbook.

BothKolbertandKlein’swritingwasclearand informative,while their integrationof

personalexperienceandstoriesenhancedtheirargumentswithhonestyandinsight.By

contrast,IpersonallyfoundthewritingsofnewmaterialismexponentTimothyMorton,

toutedasamajorvoiceinissuesoftheAnthropocene,lessilluminating.Iwasbemused

by someof the polarised opinions generated by his books, such asEcologyWithout

Nature (2007),TheEcological Thought (2010),Hyperobjects (2013)andDarkEcology

(2016).WherebothKolbertandKlein’swritingwas inclusive in itsuseof language, I

foundaspectsofMorton’swritinghardtograspanddifficult tounderstand.Reading

well-structuredthoughtsonimportantissuescanleadindividualstoactionswhichcan

changesituations,somethingIhavepersonallyexperiencedasaresultofmyimmersion

in climate changewriting and research. To beginwith,Morton’s language and style

position hiswriting as apparently intended for amore limited, academic readership

rather than for a broader public; he does not appear interested in the lucid and

motivationalrhetoricthathasassuredthelongevityandimpactofSilentSpring.

Second,Morton’sclaimsoforiginalandnewperspectivessoundedoddlyfamiliar,such

astheideathatweshouldnotconsiderourselvesapartorseparatefromnature.The

DeepEcologyphilosophy(asdescribedinRachelCarson’s1962bookSilentSpring)which

promotes the idea of the inherentworth of living things irrespective of their use to

humans,andBiophilia,theimportanceofnaturetothehealthofhumanbeings(which

47MiaHanak,“Act:Afterword,”ArtinAction:Nature,CreativityandOurCollectiveFuture,bytheeditorsofNaturalWorldMuseum(SanRafael:EarthAwareEditions,2007),171.

38

waspromotedbyEdwardWilsoninabookofthesamenamein1984),bothpredateby

decades,Morton’sself-professednewideasandphilosophicalwritings.Scottishbased

artistAndyGoldsworthyputtheideasinherentinthetheoriesofbothDeepEcologyand

BiophiliamoreelegantlythanMorton’srecentwriting,whenGoldsworthysaidthat“We

oftenforgetthatwearenature.Natureisnotsomethingseparatefromus.Sowhenwe

say that we have lost our connection with nature, we’ve lost our connection to

ourselves.”48Astheories,DeepEcologyandBiophiliaarebothwelldescribedandclearly

articulatedinmostoftheliteraturesurveyed.ToLife!andArtinActionbothhavevalue

as reference sources, and clearly communicate the diversity ofwork artists inmany

countriesareinvestigatinginboththesefields.Carson,Meadows,Kolbert,andKleinall

articulatereadilyunderstoodandimportantperspectivesonecology.Mortonappears

toclaimoriginalityinconceptuallydescribingalllivingthingsasbeingpartofamesh,yet

howisthatdistinctfromCarson’sweboflife?Theexperienceoftryingtounderstand

whatitwasaboutMorton’swritingthathasattractedalargeglobalaudience,brought

me to read the critical analysis of ElizabethBoulton,whowrote thatMorton’s book

“…Hyperobjectsportraysmostlynature’suglyaspects–environmentaldegradationand

globalwarming–andtheequallyvalidtruthofnature’sbeauty isdenied.”49Reading

Boulton’s constructiveand clear critiqueofMorton, reinforced something that I had

observed emerging in my own research outcomes, the need for a respite from

confrontingand ‘ugly aspects’which leftme feelingdesolate andhopeless.Boulton,

frommyperspective,describedanimportantpointwhenshewrotethatnature’sbeauty

isequallyvalid.AfurtherpositiveaspectofexploringMorton’svariouswritingwasthat

IbecamecleareraboutwhatIdidnotwantmyworktobecome,andinthissense,like

myearlierreactiontoKlein’sbook,thisknowledgeultimatelyproveduseful inaway

thatIcoulddirectlyapplyintomyartpractice,andthisisdiscussedfurtherinChapter

Four.50

48AndyGoldsworthy,“SacredEcology,”lastmodified2017,http://sacredecology.com/andygoldsworthy/49ElizabethBoulton,“Climatechangeasa‘hyperobject’:acriticalreviewofTimothyMorton’sreframingnarrative,”WileyOnlineLibrary,lastmodifiedJune3,2016,WIREsClimateChange,7:772–785,doi:10.1002/wcc.410,http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/wcc.410/abstract50AspartofmysurveyofMorton’swork,Icomprehensivelyexploredbothhiswritingandhisvideorecordedlectures.Additionally,IassessedtheDarkEcology(2014-2016)website,arecordofathree-yearlongprojectbyartistsexploringaspectsofMorton’swriting,andobservedthatithadadifferentfocusandartisticoutcomestotheresearchundertakeninthisthesis.Asaresult,thediscussionofMorton’sworkhasbeenrestrictedtoensurethenarrativeiskeptclearandsequential.

39

ExhibitionsandFilms

In recentyears,manyartistshaveworked individuallyandcollaborativelyonclimate

change and sustainability issues. My research outcomes use both individual and

collaborative approaches, and the creative component sits between several fields of

endeavour–sitespecificlargerscalethreedimensionalinstallations,drawings,artist’s

books, and film. This research seeks to create ameaningful bridge between artistic

practiceandmindfulness.Italsoseekstoco-createresponsesusingscientificresearch,

including natural history. This combination of science and art has recently led to an

integration of current climate changemodels and recent environmental statistics by

someartistsdirectlyintotheirwork.Thiswillbecriticallyanalysedanddiscussedfurther

inChapterTwo.

Whatthenisthecontextandtheorythatthisresearchpositionsitselfin,inrespectto

art exhibitions which use transmedia approaches, and other tools as part of their

communication?51Whathasbeensuccessful,whathasnot,andhowwillmyresearch

fill defined gaps with knowledge that can potentially influence a wider and more

positivelyframed,lessdauntinganddepressingdiscussion?ResearcherandartistDrLisa

Roberts comments about the importance of the collaborative practices described in

initiativesdeployedon theLivingDatawebsite, saying“Thispracticeexemplifies the

shift towards collective knowledge production that is essential to advance

understandingofclimatechange.”52LivingData shows that interesting themesusing

datacanbeusefullygeneratedandspecificallyappliedtopromoteknowledgeofglobal

warming.Severaloftherecentinternationalartexhibitionsonclimatechangethemes

havetakenacollectiveview,ratherthanbeingspecifictoadeeperunderstandingof

particular issues, such as, for example, endangered plant species. This has been

commentedonbycriticslikeKenJohnsonwhowroteaboutthe2013DarkOptimism,

MoMA,(aspartofExpo1:NewYork),andJohnMcDonaldwhocriticallyreviewedthe

2010 IntheBalance:ArtforaChangingWorld,MCA,Sydneyexhibition.53Bothcritics

suggestedthatthereweresignificantchallengesincreatingartthatcanmovepeople

51TransmediaArtisdefinedanddiscussedinChapterTwo.52LisaRoberts,“Livingdata:howarthelpsusallunderstandclimatechange,”lastmodifiedFebruary5,2015,https://theconversation.com/living-data-how-art-helps-us-all-understand-climate-change-3689053MOMANewYork,“Expo1:NewYork,”lastmodified2013,http://www.momaps1.org/expo1/module/dark-optimism/

40

withitsmessage,ifthemessagesaretoogeneric,andifgroupsofindividualartistsare

arbitrarily grouped together. Added to this, Johnson bluntly questioned the carbon

footprintcreatedbytheinstallationofsomeworks,andheexpressedhisconcernthat

“theexhibitioncasts toowideanetandoffers toomanydifferentandcontradictory

perspectives for anyone to find in it support for any single earth-saving program.”54

Johnsonwasparticularlydismissiveofone installationwork,RainRoom, byRandom

International(2012),observingthatvisitorswaitinginlinetoexperienceit“maywonder

whatitcontributestodeepthinkingaboutecologicalissues,”addingthatit“forallits

entertainingingenuity,seemslittlemorethanagimmickydiversion.”55Thesecomments

expressan interestingperspectiveonthe importanceoftheartist’shonestreflection

andreviewofcompletedworks,andtheirwayofbeingreframedbydifferentsituations.

McDonald’s2010reviewoftheMCAexhibitionIntheBalance:ArtforaChangingWorld

alsocriticisedthefragmentedandbroadrangeofissuesexploredintheexhibition,as

wellastheabilityofmanyoftheimagestoprovokearesponsewhenheviewedthem.

Hesaidthathedidnotarguewith“protectingtheforests,savingtheMurray,ending

driftnet fishing,makingcorporatecriminalsaccountable for theiractions,preserving

indigenous landsorheritage,orencouragingbetterpractices forwastemanagement

and recycling.”56Heasserted thatmanyof theworksweremore fromthe“realmof

ideology,notart,”andthatsomeworkswerenot,(inhisopinion)successfulontheir

own,andwithout theaddedbenefitof theexplanatory texts theMCAhadprovided

besidetheworks. I foundthiscommentthoughtprovoking,andIwasremindedof it

whenafellowstudentandIdiscussedwhetherashortfilmIhadmadeshouldincludea

title,or standaloneasan image in the samewaya staticdrawingwould.There isa

conventionfortitlesbeingusedinamoreovertwayonartists’films,andIhadtoassess

whetherthisdetractedfrom,oraddedto,thepresentationofmywork.McDonaldmight

bedisappointedtoseethatIultimatelyincludedatitle,andsimplecontext,forbothmy

filmsintheirVimeolistingsonline,althoughIavoidedafurtherstatementandsummary,

whichIdeemeddidacticandunnecessary.

54KenJohnson,“TheNaturalWorld:Here,It’sHadWork,”TheNewYorkTimes, lastmodifiedMay30,2013, http://www.nytimes.com/2013/05/31/arts/design/expo-1-new-york-at-moma-ps1-and-other-sites.html55Ibid.56 John McDonald, “In the Balance,” The Sydney Morning Herald, last modified October 2, 2010,http://johnmcdonald.net.au/2010/in-the-balance/

41

Athird,laterexhibitionArtists4Paris2015seemedtofollowthepatternofmultipleand

diverse artworks, with selected artists represented from around the globe, all with

different stories andmessages, in differentmedia and forms. An additional positive

aspectoftheArtists4Paris2015exhibitionwasthatthemoneyfromtheartworkssold

wasusedtoactionsustainableinitiativesincountriesaroundtheworld.

ItsharesitsscopewiththeArt+Climate=Change2015;acollaborationinMelbourne,

hostedbyCLIMARTE inMay2015,andagain twoyears later inApril/MaywithArt+

Climate=Change2017.57DescribedasbeingaFestival,ithadamultifacetedprogramof

exhibitions, presentations, lectures, public debates, mainstream press and website

articles. In the first year of my research I read the descriptions and reviews of a

considerablenumberofexhibitions,andIstartedtofeeljadedandcynicalaboutsome

of theclaimsandgeneralisations I readandobserved,with some implying that they

couldachievebehaviouralchange inaudiences.CLIMARTEwasdistinct fromsomeof

these,andIfeltthattheirsimplerandconcisestatementofaimswasbothrealisticand

achievable.IntheArt+Climate–Change2017websitetheydescribedinsummarythat:

“Artcanshowuswherewehavebeen,wherewearenow,andwherewemightgo.Art

canbeacalltoaction.Artcanbeacatalystforchange.”58Iamcautiousaboutbeing

overlycriticalaboutthecollectivecorrallingofartistsingroupstorespondtotheclimate

changeagenda,andIfeelitisimportantforartiststobeabletoidentifywhichaspectof

thelargeandoverwhelminglycomplexissueofglobalwarmingtheirartaddressesand

explores.Overall,itcouldbearguedthatitismoreimportanttodosomethingrather

thansitbackanddonothing,andcollectiveexhibitionsandfestivalsofartdogenerally

seem to get good press coverage and good levels of public engagement. They are,

however,sometimesfixedinamomentoftime,andhavevariableratesoflongevityand

lastingimpact,andthisissomethingIwouldliketoaddressinthefutureexecutionof

myresearch,andinmyongoingdocumentationanddisseminationofitwhenthePhD

studyisconcluded.

57TheartworkofDavidBucklandandManabuIkedawasexhibitedinArtists+Climate=Change2015andtheiroutcomesarediscussedinthecontextofChapterTwo.ThemorerecentArtists+Climate=Change2017attractedanaudienceofmorethan180,000whocollectivelyvisited30exhibitionsand40publicprograms inVictoria.Theworkof255artistswas included inthefestival.ThesefigurescomefromanemailsummaryreceivedfromCLIMARTEonSeptember6,2017.58CLIMARTE,“Art+Climate=Change2017,”HomePage,lastmodified2017,https://www.artclimatechange.org

42

Onespecificexampleofthesometimesconfusingandarbitraryinclusionofartworkisin

theRethinkgroupexhibitionin2009,whereapieceofsculpturebyCorneliaParkerwas

repurposed and placed instead into a climate change context. Her artworkHeart of

Darknesswas,sheadmitted,actuallyaboutsomethingelseentirely,andthejournalist

MadeleineBuntingfeaturedthisasakeypointinherconstructivelycriticalreview,The

RiseofClimate-ChangeArt,publishedinTheGuardiannewspaper.Buntingalsoposed

twodirectquestionsinhersubtitle,“Artistsarewakinguptoclimatechange.Butwhat

goodcantheydo–andhowgreenistheirwork?”59

IntheresearchIhaveundertakenandconductedtodate,mostrecentartexhibitions

with climate change issues as their theme seem to have grouped together quite

disparateartistsandtheirworkinaneclecticandsometimesconfusing,almostarbitrary

way.Analternative approachmightbe thematic groupingswhere specific issues are

exploredingreaterdepth,suchasaseriesofexhibitionsatinternationalbotanicgardens

aroundtheworld,inaparticularmonth,wheretheescalatingissueofendangeredplant

species is focussedonandexplored.This conceptmightprovideamoreholistic and

better, perhaps deeper platform for discussion and understanding of the issues and

global scale of the problem of at risk species. Toomuch breadth under the Eco Art

bannercanpotentiallydilutethe impact,particularly ifwork isconveniently included

whichismisrepresented,asinthecaseofParker.

Anotheraspectofsomeoftheseexhibitionsisthattheycangenerateasenseoffear

and disengagement, and potentially leave audiences feeling discouraged and

disheartened.TheCapeFarewellprojectdescribedthe2009-2010exhibitionEarth:Art

ofaChangingWorldatTheRoyalAcademyofArtsinLondonasexploringamultiplicity

of perspectives, and stated that, “Other works confronted the viewer with the

consequences of human behaviour through natural disasters and physical collapse,

counterpoisingthebeautyoftheplanetwiththedamagethatisbeinginflictedonit.”60

59MadeleineBunting,“TheRiseofClimateChangeArt,”TheGuardian,lastmodifiedDecember3,2009,https://www.theguardian.com/artanddesign/2009/dec/02/climate-change-art-earth-rethink60Authorunknown,“Earth:ArtofaChangingWorld,“CapeFarewell,lastmodifieddateunrecorded,dateof access August 30, 2017, http://www.capefarewell.com/art/past-projects/earth-art-of-a-changing-world.html

43

Thissameexhibitionwasevaluatedinanotherarticle,whichcommentedonthebroad

diversityofartworks,sayingthat“Nodoubtsucharangeistobeexpected,indeedtobe

desired,but in lookingat theseclimate relatedartworks,whatbecomesclear is that

muchofitissomewhatdetachedfromtherathermorepertinent,localandimmediate

concerns.Thiscanhavetheunfortunateconsequenceoflocatingclimatechange,inthe

public’s mind, in a remote, timeless and distant environment, resulting in a lack of

personalresponsibility.”61

Overcoming lethargyand thecapacityof the individual to realise the impactof their

actions is a key concern, as are the specific public responses to particular types of

representation.Theresultsoftheresearchsuggestthereneedstobeabalancestruck

in communicating scientific knowledge, while avoiding sensationalism and a

simplificationofthescience.Itispossiblethatfineartmaysituncomfortably,perhaps

necessarily so, within the nexus of these demands and may therefore provide an

alternative, critical, and creative stimulus towards communication and attitudinal

change. Interactions between the arts and sciences have the potential to produce

entirelynewformsofvisualimageryandunderstandingthatmayhelpusmakeheadway

throughtheuncertaintiesofclimatechange.

DuringthethreeyearsofthisPhDstudy,IcontinuedtoteachanddevelopalargeMaster

ofDesigncoursecalledEntrepreneurship,InnovationandCreativityatUNSW.Someof

thereadingsIsetforthatcoursearealsorelevanttothisresearch,andauthorandideas

researcherStevenJohnsonsaidinhis2010bookthat,“Theadjacentpossibleisakindof

shadowfuture,hoveringontheedgesofthepresentstateofthings,amapofallthe

waysinwhichthepresentcanreinventitself.”62ThisinpartdescribeshowIfeelabout

theissueofendangeredplantsandclimatechange,asIhaveexploredthe“adjacent”

possibilitiesandalternativeideasthathavegraduallyemergedinmywork.Johnson’s

quotealsorelatestoourabilitytoexplorealternativewaysofusingarttocommunicate

inperhapsmoresystematicanddeliberatelypre-plannedways.Workingnotjustwith

61JulianRuddock,“SciArt,Theconfluenceofartandscienceinconveyingtheuncertaintiesofclimatechange,”ArtScienceClimateChange,lastmodifiedDecember4,2012,http://cargocollective.com/artscienceclimatechange/SciArt-The-confluence-of-art-and-science-in-conveying-the-uncertaintie62StevenJohnson,WhereGoodIdeasComeFrom:TheSevenPatternsof Innovation (London:Penguin,2010),31.

44

curatorsandotherartists,butalsowithjournalists,scientistsandothersmightprovoke

morepositiveactionsandresponses,andthispointisreiteratedanddemonstratedwith

specificexamplesinChapterTwo.

This chapter has described the work of four environmental writers, followed by an

overviewof someother recentpublicationswhichexploreEcoArt. It thendiscussed

somedifferentexhibitionsrelatedtoclimatechangeissues,andrelevanttothisarea

numberoffilmswhichhavetransitionedsomeartisticapproachesintransmediaways.

TheCapeFarewellprojectwasinitiatedbyanartist,DavidBucklandin2001,topromote

discussionandactionontheimpactsofclimatechangebyexploringculturalresponses.

Likethelater2006filmAnInconvenientTruth,italsotookatransmediaapproach,with

expeditions to the Arctic (pairing artists with scientists), exhibitions, a book titled

BurningIce,aUNawardwinningwebsite,afilm,aneventsprogramandsoon.Selected

content from Cape Farewell is now being formally used in high school curriculum

subjectsingeographyandscienceintheUK.Itachievedrealandlastingchange,which

canbeevaluatedandmeasured.

Thismultidimensionalapproachwasalsousedinthe2006documentaryAnInconvenient

Truth,whereformerUSVicePresidentAlGorewaspersuadedtotellthestoryofhis

“travellingslideshow,”butonamuchbiggerscale.Thedocumentaryandsubsequent

book and trainingprogramsdidwhat his solo slideshow couldnot – promote active

globalchangeandenhancefurthereducation.ThisultimatelyledtoTheClimateReality

Project,amultifacetedtransmediaapproach,whichincludestheworkofpeopleinthe

arts,tobringaboutrealandlastingchange.Anexampleofthepublicimpacttheoriginal

documentaryfilmhadaroundtheworldwasdetailedina47countryInternetsurvey

conductedbyOxfordUniversityandTheNielsenCompany.Thesurveypolled26,486

people,andthereportsaid,inpartthat,“66%ofthoserespondentswhosaidtheyhad

seen An Inconvenient Truth stated that it had “changed their mind” about global

warmingand89%saidithadmadethemmoreawareoftheproblem.Threeoutoffour

(74%)said theyhadchangedsomeof theirhabitsbecauseofseeingthe film.”63This

63Ireadandnotedtheoriginalreportthatthisquotecomesfrominthefirstyearofmyresearchin2015,throughanowinactivelink,sothisisnotincludedintheBibliography:http://nz.nielsen.com/news/GlobalWarming_Jul07.shtml

45

significantstatisticseemstosuggestthatpeopleactivelyengagedwiththecontentof

thedocumentary,andMaxBoykoff, JamesMartinFellowat theUniversityofOxford

commented further on the survey report when he said “An Inconvenient Truth has

pushedAlGoreandthemessageofconcernforclimatechangeupthepublicagenda.

This has been combinedwith UN scientific reports and the Stern Review aswell as

increasedmediacoverageoverthelastmonthstoshiftthefocusformanypeoplefrom

whetherthereisaproblemtowhattodoaboutit.”64Morepersonally,itwasafterseeing

An InconvenientTruth in2006 that Ibecamedetermined toworkmoredirectlywith

endangered plants, and the influence of the film subsequently led to my Artist in

ResidenceapplicationtotheRoyalBotanicGardens.

NotallfilmstakethedocumentaryapproachseeninAnInconvenientTruth.The2009

filmAgeofStupidwasadrama-documentary-animationhybridwhichshowedaman

livingaloneinthedevastatedworldof2055,watchingarchivalfootagefromthemid-to-

late2000sandasking"Whydidn'twestopclimatechangewhenwehadthechance?"

ThemakersofTheAgeofStupidwereamongthefirsttousethecrowdfundingmodel

andpioneeredanewdistributionsystem,calledIndieScreenings,whichallowedpeople

toholdascreeningof thefilmandkeeptheprofits for themselves.Oneof themost

interesting aspects of this film from my perspective is the constructive criticism it

generated, including comments about the systemic nature of the problem of global

warming,inStevenG.Brant’spieceforTheHuffingtonPost.

Whileacknowledgingthatthefilmmakers’intentionsweregood,Brantassertedthathe

didnotbelieveclimatechangewasgoingtobestoppedby“browbeatingtheotherside

into seeing things their way.” He added, “Global warming is going to be ended by

somethingthat’sneverbeenpartofthemainstreamstopglobalwarmingmovement’s

strategyforchange.It’sgoingtobeendedwhenthefocusbecomesnotWhatdowe

wanttostop?ButWhatdowewanttostart?instead.Andwhatdowewanttostart?A

64Afurthersummaryonthenowinactive2015report linkmentionedinfootnote59canbefoundat,EnvironmentalChangeInstitute,UniversityofOxford,“NewsRelease,”lastmodifiedJuly2,2015,http://www.nielsen.com/content/dam/nielsen/en_us/documents/pdf/Press%20Releases/2007/July/Global%20Consumers%20Vote%20Al%20Gore,%20Oprah%20Winfrey%20and%20Kofi%20Annan%20Most%20Influential%20to%20Champion%20Global%20Warming%20Cause%20Nielsen%20Survey.pdf

46

CulturalTransformation.”65Althoughthefilmitselfhasanegative“endoftheworld”

theme, the 10:10 It’s Happening website that the film creators retrospectively

developed,isagoodexampleofmorepositivestoriesofchange,andinthatway,itcan

becomparedtoKlein’smorerecent2014ThisChangesEverythingbook,websiteand

subsequentdocumentaryfilm.

Oneof the things that interestsmeaboutbothAn Inconvenient Truth and theCape

Farewell project is that neither of them were deliberately designed as transmedia

projectsintheirinitialconcept–theyevolvediterativelyintothatcommunicationstyle.

Over the last year there has been increasing discussion about how Transmedia

Storytellingcanbeactivelydesigned intoprojectsat their inceptiontoenhancetheir

success in an already information rich, sometimes screen-blinded world, and my

academic research into this featured inamodule inan international, freecourse.As

previouslymentioned,Klein’sbookThisChangesEverything ispositionedalongsidea

verywelldesignedandinteractivewebsite,anditusedthewebsiteasatooltogather

informationandstoriesforthedocumentary.Inthisway,thebookisthestartingpoint

ofajourney,anditisusedasaninitialmechanismtoprogressfurtherchangeinamore

activeway,andaspartofabiggermovement.The influenceof thisanalysis is that I

became clearer about my own desire to have divergent and multiple outcomes, in

differentandsometimesnon-traditionaltransmediasettings,usingmyartwork.

In constructing ChapterOne I often thought of the ‘tip of the iceberg’ analogy. The

reviewsIhaveselectedandincludedhererepresentasmallproportionofamorediverse

fieldofliterature,andattimesIfeltoverwhelmedbythelargeandincreasingnumbers

ofpertinentpublicationsthatrelateinonewayoranothertoartandclimatechange.I

retainedthosereadingsthatimpactedontheactualmakingofmyartwork,andthisis

exploredfurtherinChapterFour.Laterinthisthesis,ChapterThreediscussesrelevant

recentresearchintomindsight,mindfulnessandemotionalresonancethroughbeauty

ingreaterdepth,andtwobookswhichprovedimportantinthefinalyearofmypractice-

basedresearcharediscussedwithinthatcontext.

65ItalicsareBrant’semphasis–heisaself-describedsocialsystemscientist.StevenG.Brant“TheBrilliance(andStupidity)ofTheAgeofStupid,”HuffingtonPost,lastmodifiedMay25,2011,http://www.huffingtonpost.com/steven-g-brant/the-brilliance-and-stupid_b_295518.html

47

CHAPTERTWO:OtherArtists

OneofthereasonswhywegotTheArtsforTheEarthgoingwasspecificallytotryandcommunicatenotjusttheawfuldespairaboutcollapsingecosystemsbutalsotoremindpeopleofthepowerofthatjoyfulrelationshipwhichissuchanimportantpart...itisn'tbyforcingthingsontopeople,itisbythislateralapproach,veryoftenevocativeratherthandidactic,thatyoucanmakesuchpowerfulmessagesavailabletopeople.66

Chapter Two begins by defining Eco Art and Transmedia Art, and clarifying the

differences between Land Art, Earthworks, Environmental Art, and SciArt. It then

explores and critically assesses the work of selected artists who investigate themes

relatingtoclimatechange,withaspecific focusonplants,drawingsandhanddrawn

moving images. Some of the current concepts being explored by such artists are

outlined, including the use of scientific statistics and diagrams relating to global

warming, which can provoke responses in regards to nature and endangered

environments. The chapter also critically appraises the (sometimes confusing)

appropriationsofscientificillustrationsanddrawingsofplantsbycertaincontemporary

artists.

InrelationtoJonathonPorritt’scommentsinthequoteabove,theselectionofartwork

for discussion in this chapter was guided more by its inherent power to persuade,

inspire,and influence, rather than itscapacity to forcefully lectureandcommunicate

“awfuldespair.”TherationaleforselectingtheseworksisfurtherdescribedinChapters

ThreeandFour,whichalsoconsidertheperceivedneedforanantidotetoanxiety,and

artisticexplorationsofthevisualaestheticsofbeauty.Throughtheapplicationofmore

inherentlymindfulperspectivesthatenhancebiophilia,andtheconsciouscreationof

artworks which potentially generate a more positive response to aspects of

ecopsychology,artistscanofferalternativestoassuagefurtherecoanxiety.67

66JonathonPorritt,Founder&DirectorofForumfortheFutureandPastDirector,FriendsoftheEarth,inMappingtheTerrainofContemporaryEcoArtPracticeandCollaboration,ArtinEcology–AThinkTankonArtsandSustainability,AResearchReportbyBethCarruthersfortheCanadianCommissionforUNESCO,Vancouver,BritishColumbia,lastmodifiedApril27,2006,http://unesco.ca/~/media/pdf/unesco/bethcarruthersartinecologyresearchreportenglish.pdf67Ecopsychologyandecoanxietyarevariouslyspeltwithandwithoutahyphen.Forthepurposesofthisthesis,theversionswithouthyphensareconsistentlyused.Since2005thetermsolastalgiaalsoappearsinsomeliterature,butasecoanxietyisthemorebroadlyunderstoodterm,forclarityecoanxietyhasbeenselectedandappliedthroughoutthethesis.

48

My rationale for choosing these artists was to explore and examine contemporary

drawingworksthroughthelensofecology,andtoalsoconsiderandassessthedifferent

waystheyconveyedideas,includingthroughtransmediatechniquesandpractices.This

discussionstartswithtwo,nowwell-knownearlyenvironmentalEcoArtworksbyPeter

Dombrovskis,andChristo.Althoughneitheroftheworksaredrawings,bothcouldbe

considered early examples of Transmedia Art, since the images were broadly

disseminatedacrossmultipleplatforms, includingpopularmedia,atthetimeoftheir

creation.Forthisreason,theyareincluded,andtheirwidespreadimpactisdescribed.68

This chapter then considers different drawing approaches to the impact of

environmentaldegradationonplants. Itdescribesa seriesof contemporarydrawings

createdinthe1980sbyGunterBrusandArnulfRainer,whichappropriatedmultiple19th

centurysciencebasedbotanicalnatureprintsinanoddlydisrespectfulway.Thosetwo

artistsdrewoverthetopoftheoriginalimagesoftheplantswithoutappropriateregard

to thework of the original artists or the flora, and thereby diminished the inherent

beautyandvalueoftheplantimages.TheChapterthencontinueswithadiscussionof

twocontemporaryAustralianartists,JohnWolseleyandJudyWatson,bothofwhomuse

drawingsasaprimary technique in theirartisticpractice,andwhohaveworkedwith

plants,andthemesofendangeredspeciesandnature.Thisisfollowedbyadiscussionof

theenvironmentallydrivenartworkofCorneliaHesse-Honegger,who isascientistby

training.Herobservational and interpretative artwork showsdrawingsof insects and

plants affectedbynuclear reactor leaks, and theseoutcomeswere laudedbyartistic

communities,butsurprisinglycriticisedbysomescientists.BothHesse-Honeggerandthe

artistMichael Landyactivelyuse scientific illustrationandbotanicalmethods in their

artwork,andaseriesofdrawingsbyLandyarethendiscussedinthiscontext.

68Itisworthnotingthatintheinitialstagesofresearchaconsiderablenumberofartistswhoworkwithimageryrelatingtoclimatechangewereconsideredforinclusion.Someofthese,suchasJanetLaurence,workwithplantsandEcoArt,butnotwithdrawingastheirprimaryfocus.Assuch,inthefinalstagesoftheresearchthethesiscontentwasrefinedandreassessedforclarity,andtoalignmoreclearlywiththeinfluencesontheoutcomesofthepracticebasedcomponentasdescribedanddetailedinChaptersThreeandFour.Relatedtothisreasoning,artistssuchasFionaHall,AnselmKiefer, JimHodges,andWilliamKentridgewhohaveproducedartworkwhichdoesintegrateaspectsofdrawing,beautyandplantswereultimatelyexcluded,becausetheirworkdidnotsitasclearlywithinanEcoArtperspectiveandframerelative to climate change and plant species. Joseph Beuys’ wonderful 7000 Oaks project in 1982combined beauty, plants and Eco Art, but it was not included as it was sculptural, and did not usedrawings.Forthisreason,apartfromabriefmentioninChapterFour,theworkofAndyGoldsworthywasalsonotincludedinthefinalthesis,inspiteofthefactthatbothBeuysandGoldsworthy’sartworkclearlyenhancesbiophiliaandapositiveregardfornature,andinparticularexaltsthebeautyofplants.

49

Landy’sseriesissimilarinscaleandpenciltechniquetothedrawingsofManabuIkeda,

whoseworkwasexhibitedandfeaturedinboththeArtists+Climate=Changeexhibition

in 2015, and the book of the same name in 2016. David Buckland’s work was also

exhibited in thisgroup,andhehasworked inmanycountriesandwithseveralother

artists, tocollaboratively increaseunderstandingofenvironmental issuesthroughthe

CapeFarewellproject.Oneofhisworks,Shard,isincluded,alongwithbrieferdiscussions

oftheTransmediaArtworkofDebbieSymons,OlafurEliasson,andAiWeiwei.69

EcoArtandTransmediaArt

Chapter One discussed two highly influential, early environmental books: Rachel

Carson’sSilentSpring(1962),andTheLimitstoGrowth(1972)byDonellaMeadows.The

widespreadpositive response to, and global reachof both thesebooks reflected the

increasingconcernsofpeopleinthe1960sand1970stoissuesrelatingtothenegative

impact of humans on their ecological environments. This was similarly reflected in

parallelmovementsanddiversedevelopments in theartworldat that time,and it is

usefultoclarifyanddefinethesefurther.

Thisresearch,inpart,exploressomeofthetheoryandoverlapsbetweenaconceptual

integrationofEcoArtandTransmediaArt.Thedefinitionwhichmostclearlyrelatesto

thescopeofthisthesisisEcoArt,atermwhichemergedinthe1960stodescribeartists

whoseworkwasstrongly influencedbytheirconcernforwhatwashappeningtothe

naturalenvironmentasaresultofpollution,urbangrowth,and,(assoadeptlydescribed

byCarsoninSilentSpring),thewidespreadandill-considereduseoftoxicchemicals.Eco

Artisgenerallyunderstoodtocombineaspectsofecologyandart;itisdistinctfromLand

Art, or Earthworks,which also date from the 1960s, butwhich specifically used the

landscapeastheirmedium,andwhichironicallyintheirearlierevolutionoftenhada

detrimentaleffecton localecologies.AsElenaMartiniquecommented,“WhileSpiral

Jettyfrom1969createdbyRobertSmithsonisconsideredhisseminalwork,thepiece

createdapermanentdamageuponthelandscapeheworkedwith.WhentheEuropean

duoChristoandJean-ClaudetemporarilywrappedthecoastlineatLittleBay,southof

69Theapproachtodrawinginspiredbythemovementofthenaturalenvironment,andthelayeredworkandshortfilmFluxbytheAustralianartistAnaPollak,influencedmytwoexperimentalshortfilms,andtheirselectedsoundscapes,andherworkisthereforedescribedmoreappropriatelywithinthecontextofChapterFour.

50

Sydney,thepieceattractedalotofnegativecriticisminenvironmentalcircles.”70Both

these earlier Land Art works were completed in 1969, almost fifty years ago, and

Martiniqueobservedthat,“Thenegativecriticismtheseandsimilarpiecesgarnered,led

landartists torethinktheconsequencesof theirpracticeandcreateart that ismore

sustainable.”71

EcoArtisalsodifferenttoEnvironmentalArt,anothertermwhichdatesfromthe1960s,

which is usedmore generally to describework in the environment, that often uses

naturalmaterials,orisaboutaspecificenvironment,andwhichisnotalwaysrelatedto

concernsaboutissueswhichimpactnegativelyonthenaturalworld.Themorerecent

termSciArtisoftenusedtodescribescienceandartcollaborations,butthesemay–or

maynot–haveanecologicalbasis.Forexample,anumberofrecentSciArtprojectshave

explorednew technologies, such asmedical scanners and robots. The selected term

applied in this thesis, Eco Art, can still have a strong scientific basis, and be cross-

disciplinary,particularly inregardstoscience,but itscoredefinition is in theoverlap

betweenecologyandartpractices.ThisthesisproposesthatEcoArt,whencombined

withTransmediaArt,presentssomeinterestingnewpossibilitiestofurtherthecauseof

generating deeper understandings of the impact of climate change on endangered

plants,byusingbeautyasawayofenhancingbiophilia,andreducingecoanxiety.

Havingbrieflydefinedtheseterms,itisofcoursepossibletofindartworkswhichexplore

the often blurred and unclear boundaries between the various movements and

definitionsastheyhaveevolvedacrossdecades,andasissuessuchastheozonelayer

andCFCpollutiondeclined,tobereplacedbytheescalatingissuesofglobalwarming

and climate change. As discussed in this chapter, sometimes artworks are

recontextualisedandusedinwaysthatthenalsoreframeorredefinethem,whichthe

artistdidnothaveinmindwhenanartworkwasoriginallycreated.Alsorelevanttothis

istoconsiderthetermTransmediaArt,whereartistschoosetoreinterpretandreframe

theirownworkindeliberatewayswhichconsciouslyexploremorethanonemedium.

Thatis,artworkcanbeusedacrossmorethanonemediaeitherbyaccidentorbydesign.

70ElenaMartinique,“TheEraofEnvironmentalArt,”Widewalls,lastmodified2017,http://www.widewalls.ch/environmental-art/71Ibid.

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(ThisisdifferenttoTransmediaStorytellingwhichisfrequentlyusedinadvertisingand

studio generatedmovies,wheremultipleplatformsare consciouslypredesignedand

leveraged to enhance marketing and audience engagement in the story. See the

previousdefinitionintheIntroductiontothisthesis.)

TransmediaArthasused“artisticconceptsandprojectsbasedonspaceandtime,”72

with an experimental and open approach to moving artwork from one media into

another,andthisparticularlyinterestsme.Forexample,Imightmakeasingledrawing

on paper, which is then printed into a repeating series onmetal sheets, and those

amendedimagescouldbescannedandmadeintoashortfilmwhichisusedtofurther

arelatedcause inacommunitycampaign.Thatshortfilmcouldbeshownona large

screeninagallery,oruploadedonlinetobeviewedonahand-helddevice,orsmaller

screen.Thefilmcouldbeprojectedoutsideontoabuilding,whereexternal lightand

colour also add to its reinterpretation, and where the audience are encouraged to

actively participate. That projected image could then be photographed, and the

photograph edited to further recontextualise the work, across another media and

format–suchasaposterbeingusedaspartofapoliticalrally.Icouldwriteacreative

pieceabouttheimage,publishedonline,andImightaskascientisttotakemyimage

andamend,alter,orappropriateitasacollaborationtopromoteadeeperorbroader

understandingofclimatechange–orviceversa.

TransmediaArtisnotjustthesamepieceofworkusedacrossmultiplemediaplatforms

however.Itis“concernedwithtransdisciplinaryinitiativesintheconceptualisationand

implementationofart.”73It“alsostudiessocialapplications,socio-politicalandcultural

subjects,andinterventionsandinteractions.”74 Itcouldbearguedthatthisdefinition

increasingly applies to most current forms of art practice, in an era where blogs,

websites,socialmediaandtherepurposingofimagesforonlinenewsareincreasingly

the norm rather than the exception. Transmedia Art “involves a critical study of

theoretical and practical methods and also investigates the communicative,

72 Author Unknown, “Transmedia Art,” University of Applied Arts, Vienna, last modified 2017,http://www.dieangewandte.at/en/institutes/fine_arts_and_media_art/transmedia_art73Ibid.74Ibid.

52

performativeandprocessualaspectsofart.”75Itmovesbeyondapassivereiterationor

reproductionofanartworkintoabroaderreinvention,redefinitionandextension.

IfirstbecameinterestedintheideaofTransmediaArtwhenIwasaskedbyacolleague

in psychology at UNSW to help design the catalogue cover and branding for the

InternationalConferenceonMemory4,heldin2006.Inmycollaboration,andwiththe

support of Professor Amanda Barnier, I was ultimately awarded a Vice Chancellor’s

SpecialProjectGranttocurateanexhibitionoftheworkofartistswhoexploredmemory

andloss,titledTheArtisticConstructionofMemory.Asapracticingdesigneraswellas

anartist,incuratingtheexhibitionIwantedtochallengetheconventionsofdisplaying

theartwork,andsoIusedandrepurposedtheformatandpresentationstyleofscientific

conference posters. I selected nine international artists, and designed and digitally

printedlargescalepostersintegratingtheirwork,whichalsoincorporatedthewritings

ofpoetsandauthorswhocreativelyexploredmemory.Withmorethan600psychology

delegates from more than 40 countries attending the conference, a CD was also

producedsummarisingtheprojectasa‘takehome.’

I realised, thinking about it several years later, that my drawings (which had been

included in theexhibition) hadbecome transmedia rather than just transdisciplinary

(although I also consciously sought to create a specific disciplinary bridge of

understanding between the psychologists at the conference, and the participating

artists).Theoriginaldrawingsthemselvesdidnotappear,andreproductionsofthem

wererecombinedwithscientificformatsandformsofcommunication,andotherarts,

to create a new conceptualisation for a different audience across more than one

platform, as an interaction. The knowledge and understanding of its transmedia

transitioncamemuchlater,however,longaftertheexhibitionwasover,andthisisan

important point. We need to take care when assigning theoretical frameworks to

practicalartworkstoensurethatatruthfulnarrativeofhowtheworkactuallyevolved

isdocumented.This is something Ihaveexplored in thecontextof thediscussion in

ChapterFour,astheoverlapsbetweenaccidentanddeliberatedesignhavegenerated

moreauthenticalternatives,andasignificanttransitionintheevolutionofmyartwork.

75Ibid.

53

InChapterOnethepointwasmadethatthefilmAnInconvenientTruthandtheCape

Farewellprojectboth iterativelydevelopedintoentitiesthatcouldberetrospectively

assessed as being transmedia. Frommy perspective, in part, their initial popularity

generatedfurthermomentumwhichseemstohaveallowedbothprojectstothenbe

reframed,reinterpretedandfurtherextended.Itwouldbedisingenuoustosuggestthat

manycreativeventuresstartoutwithaclearplaninplacetoleveragethepotentialof

transmediaasadevicetoenhancethesocialapplicationofthecontent.

Eachmethodofcommunicationhasitsownconventionsandconstraintsinregardsto

anindividual’sexperienceasanaudience–soabook,website,film,exhibition,journal,

blog,andsoon–candosomethings,butnotothers.Thereisatemptationtocategorise

and summarise some aspects of our culture in neat and tidy ways under a theory,

headingorbanner,but(asIhavefoundinresearchingthisthesis)theactualcreative

processusedisoftenacuriouscombinationofsomeplanning,someknowledge,and

some structure,mixed together intuitively in a personal (and sometimes subjective)

way.76

There is also a subtle line of difference between TransmediaArt and the previously

definedTransmediaStorytelling.TheauthorandresearcherProfessorHenryJenkins,in

his2006ConvergenceCulture:WhereOldandNewMediaCollidebook,redefineswhat

TransmediaStorytellingis-andisn’t-fromhisperspective.77Relevanttothisthesis,he

argues against transmedia being just a formof branding, and insteadhe focuses on

“emergentformsofstorytelling,whichtapintotheflowofcontentacrossmedia.”78

76IntheearlystagesofmyresearchIreadtwelveotherPhDthesesinordertounderstanddifferentwaysofapproachingandexpressingpracticebasedresearchoutcomesrelatingtoplants.OnethesisbyRachelTarnPedder-Smith(2011)fromtheRoyalCollegeofArtinLondonexploredmaterialculturetheory,anditincludedinterviewswithtenotherartistswhoworkwithplants,herbariumsandmuseumcollections.Iwasparticularlyinterestedinthehonestsummaryoftheauthorwhenshecommentedonpage158that,“Inconclusionnoneoftheartistsspecificallymentionedmaterialculturetheory,howeverunknowinglytheyareallusinganddevelopingconceptsconcernedwithobjectand/orhumanrelationshipstoproducenarrativebasedartwork.”TransmediaArtcouldbesimilarlysummarised–someartistsemployvarioustransmediatechniques intheirworkwithoutknowledgeof thetheoriesunderpinning it. Inthissense,theyareperhapsmoreinfluencedbyasurroundingcultureofchange,andtheworkofotherartists,ratherthantheirconsciousanddeliberateapplicationofatheory.77HenryJenkins,ConvergenceCulture:WhereOldandNewMediaCollide(NewYork:NewYorkUniversityPress,2006),2.InhisIntroductionJenkinsdescribesthebook“…asbeingabouttherelationshipbetweenthreeconcepts–mediaconvergence,participatoryculture,andcollectiveintelligence.”78HenryJenkins,“Transmedia202:FurtherReflections,”ConfessionsofanAca-Fan,lastmodifiedJuly31,2011,http://henryjenkins.org/blog/2011/08/defining_transmedia_further_re.html

54

He further proposes that wemay wish to consider different aspects of Transmedia

Storytellingsuchastransmediaactivismandtransmediaritual;andthepotentialuseof

bothofthoseprovidesinterestingalternativewaysofreframingcontemporaryart.79So

for example, the work of Naomi Klein, discussed in Chapter One, could perhaps be

described as transmedia activism, in theway she leverages themedia potential and

differencesbetweenthethreecommunicationformsofherbook,interactivewebsite,

andsubsequentdocumentaryfilm.Further,theworkofseveraloftheartistsdiscussed

inthischapterintegratenotjustTransmediaArt,butalsoaspectsofactivismandrituals

inbroadertransmediaways,aswellassomeEcoArtperspectives,asweshallsee.

Jenkins also distinguishes between adaptation and extension as being important in

understanding the relationship of co-creation and collaboration in transmedia, as

opposedtoamultimodalreiterationofthesameideaorconcept.Hewrites:“Basically,

an adaptation takes the same story from onemedium and retells it in another. An

extensionseekstoaddsomethingtotheexistingstoryasitmovesfromonemediumto

another.”80SoKlein’smulti-platformuseofdifferentmediawasafurthertransmedia

extensionofthestoryinherbook,notjustanadaptationofitscontent.Eachiteration

ofThisChangesEverythingformedadifferentexpansion.

There is a furtherway that Jenkin’s transmedia definitions and perspectives can be

appliedinmyownresearch,anditrelatestotheoverlapsIhaveexperiencedinwriting

this thesis, at the same time as developing and exhibitingmy artwork.Over several

decadesIhaveoftenusedpoetryandwrittentextsasthestartingpointsformycreative

ideas.Overthelastthreeyearsofthisresearch,thishasdevelopedanddeepened,and

Ihavefoundthatpublishingmywrittenreflectionsonmypractice, inbookchapters,

journalsandincollaborativewebsiteshasextendedthestoriesIwishtocommunicate.

Thereisacyclicalprocessatplay,wherewritingaboutmyartworkgivesmemoreideas

forartwork;andadaptingmyartworkandreframingitinanoverallnarrative(suchasin

arecentjournalarticle)wheretheimagesareseensequentiallyasawholebodyofwork,

alsotransitionstheidea,asacollectivewhole.ThiswashighlightedintheresponsesI

receivedthroughsocialmedia,toasoloexhibition,discussedfurtherinChapterFour.

79Ibid.80Ibid.

55

EarlierEcoArtists

ChapterOne contextualisedmy researchby reference to someof the collective and

moregeneralEcoArtapproachesinpublications,andexhibitions,notingthattherecan

besomeconfusioncausedbyattimesarbitrarygroupingsofdisparateartistsaround

environmentalthemes.Somegenericstatementsaboutthemanyandvariedaspectsof

climatechangecanlackinfluence,andsoChapterTwoselectssomekeyexamplesof

visual artworks, which have also had some sort of critically assessed, documented

impact.

Examiningthehistoryofindividualimagesthathavepreviouslyinfluencedsocialchange

relating to ecology and theenvironment, canhelp to establish a context for current

research.Relevant to this theme is the iconicphotographMorningMist,Rock Island

Bend by theAustralian PeterDombrovskis of the Franklin River, as shownused in a

posterdesigninFigure11.

Taken in1982, itwasused inacampaignthatsameyear, tostoptheproposeddam

constructionontheFranklinRiverinTasmania,andthephotographanditsimpactwas

ultimatelyakeyfactor intheAustralianHighCourt’sdecisionnottodamtheriver.81

PeterDombrovskis’photoalsogeneratedaninternationalresponse,andinrecognition

ofhisworkhewasthefirstAustralianphotographertobeinductedintoandincludedin

theInternationalPhotographyHallofFame.82

Thephotowasusedby thecampaign in full colour,and in large fullpage formats in

Australianregionalandnationalnewspapers,whichwasunusualforthetime.83Thenow

well-known andwidely recognised photograph “inspires the viewer with a sense of

wonder and awe and [this] is one of the reasons it played such a powerful role in

preservingtheFranklinRiver.”84

81LizDombrovskis“PeterDombrovskis,”TheCompanionGuidetoTasmanianHistory,lastmodified2006,http://www.utas.edu.au/library/companion_to_tasmanian_history/D/Dombrovskis.htm82Ibid.83TheWildernessSociety,”PivotalWildernessSocietycampaignerKarenAlexanderhasbeenawardedanOrderofAustraliaMedal,”TheWildernessSociety,lastmodifiedJuly6,2015,https://www.wilderness.org.au/articles/pivotal-wilderness-society-campaigner-karen-alexander-has-been-awarded-order-australia84MonashGalleryofArt,“PeterDombrovskis,”MonashGalleryofArt,lastmodified2016,https://www.mga.org.au/index.php/collection/explore/index/image/450

56

Figure 11. Advertisement placed by the National South-West Coalition, showing the use of the 1982photographMorningMist,RockIslandBendbyPeterDombrovskis.Sizeofadvertisementunrecorded.

Thepoliticaluseofthisphotographicimagetosupportaparticularenvironmentalissue

andcampaignrelatingtoaspecificplace,isdifferenttotheapproachtakenbyChristo

VladimirovJavacheff,knownasChristo.SevenyearsafterDombrovskis’imageofnatural

beauty and potential loss of the Franklin River was used so effectively in Australia,

ChristowascommissionedinadvancebyTimeMagazinetocreateanartworkwhichwas

usedfora1989coverimagetosymbolise“earth’svulnerabilitytoman’srecklessways,”

asdescribedbythePublisherandPresidentRobertL.Miller.85TheTimeMagazinecover

is shown inFigure12.Christo’sworkwascalledWrappedGlobe,andthe installation

related to popular photographic images of that timewhich showed the earth as an

idealistic, cleanwhole, viewed from space. InChristo’s reinterpretation, insteadof a

unique,largescaleviewoftheplanet,theearthisshowninadiminishedform,wrapped

inmuddied rope and plastic, as though it is amass produced, disposable item, left

discardedonabeach.

85RobertL.Miller“FromthePublisher,”TimeMagazine,January2,1989,3.

57

Figure12.Christo,WrappedGlobe,1989,inTimeMagazine,coverpage.

ThisimagewascriticallyevaluatedbyFinisDunawayinhis2015bookSeeingGreen:The

UseandAbuseofAmericanEnvironmentalImages.DunawaycomparedChristo’searth

with the popularEarthrise photographs taken by astronauts from space twenty-one

yearsearlierin1968,whenhesaid:“Ratherthanashiningblueballthatinspiresawein

spectators,theplastic-wrapped,bundled-upglobeappearsasasyntheticallyproduced

58

itemconfinedbysociety.”86AlthoughitisreproducedinDunaway’sbookinblackand

white,theactualcoverfeaturedabloodredsky,enhancedbyaredborder,asthough

theearth’sdistanthorizonwasonfire.Aforebodingsenseofheavinesshangsintheair,

anditisnotclearifitisoiltheearthissittingonatthebaseoftheimage,althoughan

associationcanbeinferredfromourfamiliaritywithimagesofoilspillswashedupon

beaches.AsDonH.Krug commented inanearlierevaluationof the image,Christo’s

artwork“vividlywarnsusthattheearthisnotapackagethatcanbeexchangedfora

newglobeatalocaloutletstore.”87

Christo’ssignatureisshowninthebottomright,sotheclassicconventionoftheartist’s

imprimaturisused,andinthisexample,theimageoftheearthisreframedtoenhance

anenvironmentalmessagewithinanewspublication.InChristo’scase,theprominent

andpertinent,specificallycommissionedphotographofaninstallationartworkisshown

centrestageinagloballypromotedcontext.Theuseofartisticallybasedimagessuchas

these,whichcanenhanceandprogressunderstandingandactiononclimatechange,

showarangeofapproachesandapplications,withthepotentialformoreconsciously

plannedandovertly designed, better usedoutcomes in the future.As scientists and

artistscollaborateandworkmoreactivelytogetheronclimatechangecommunication,

so too could journalists and artists, politicians and artists, and others, in further

collaborationsinconcernedcommunities.Thereisagrowingrecognitionamongarange

ofexpertsconcernedwiththeimpactofclimatechange,aboutthepotentialandpower

ofcontemporaryarttocontributetochangingperceptionsandbehaviour.Forexample,

inarecent2015articleinTheConversation,titledClimateScienceisLookingtoArtto

Create Change, co-authors Professor David Karoly and Guy Abrahams wrote that,

“Contemporaryart,withitsintimateconnectiontothetimeinwhichitarises,hasthe

intellectual and creative capacity to be a powerful trans-disciplinary change agent,

bringingtogetherotherwisedisparatefieldsofscience,policyandpolitics.”88

86FinisDunaway,SeeingGreen:TheUseandAbuseofAmericanEnvironmentalImages(Chicago:TheUniversityofChicagoPress,2015),201.87DonH.Krug,“TeachingArtintheContextsofEverydayLife,”inContemporaryIssuesinArtEducation,ed.YvonneGaudeliusandPegSpeirs(UpperSaddleRiverNJ:PrenticeHall,2002),180.88GuyAbrahamsandDavidKaroly,“Climatescienceislookingtoarttocreatechange,”TheConversation,lastmodifiedMay7,2015,,https://theconversation.com/climate-science-is-looking-to-art-to-create-change-41185

59

ScienceandDrawing

The idea of combining scientific data and modelling in a visual way to tell a more

powerfulandaccuratestory,usingdrawings,holdsalotofinterestforme.Itisawayof

addinganothertooltoatoolbox,anditprovidesasometimesconciseandsuccinctway

to communicate different rationales, and to embed alternativeways of viewing the

artwork,sometimesinconnectionwithstatisticsandmeasurement.Relatedtothis is

theoverlapbetweenscientificillustrationandcontemporaryart.Inmyprevious2009

soloexhibition,Iwasinfluencedbythewaythatherbariumsamplesweredisplayed,and

thishascontinuedtoalterhowIapproachmycurrentresearch,whichhasextendedinto

investigations at Kew Garden, the Millennium Seed Bank at Wakehurst, and most

recentlyat theRoyalBotanicGardenEdinburgh. Indoing this, Ihave felt that itwas

important to respect theworkof the scientific illustratorswhoseworkprecededmy

own,andwho,inthepast,oftenworkedanonymously,intheemployofbotanistsand

collectors.

Scientificillustrationsofplantshavealonghistoryandfollowestablishedconventionsin

theirformatsandvisualcompositions.Theyfrequentlydemonstrateanappliedaesthetic

of beauty in their execution. These have been appropriated by a number of

contemporaryartists,andcollaborationsofartists.Inthe1970s,theAmericanartistCy

Twomblyproducedaseriesofdrawingworks,NaturalHistoryIandNaturalHistoryII,

whichsuccessfullyreinvigoratedandintegratedscientific illustrationsofplant images,

creating a visual reinterpretation and bridge between science and art in a subtle,

considered and nuanced way. The collaged drawings integrated images from an

unacknowledgedbotanicalillustrationbook,andincludedblanklabelsandgraphpaper

in some of the series, in an apparent reference to the scientific methods of

categorisation,presentationandnotation.NaturalHistoryIandNaturalHistoryIIwere

reproducedasaseriesofprints,andIparticularlylikedtheinterplaybetweenTwombly’s

rougherexpressivemarksashe‘redrew’aplantnearthemorerestrainedstaticbotanical

illustrationwhichhadinspiredhim.Thecombinationofascienceperspectiveandthe

artist’s reinterpretation merged in the composition, with one complementing and

allowingustoreconsiderand‘lookagain’attheother.Thedualityoftheimagesineach

drawing,andacrosstheseriesasawholeseemedtorespecttheintegrityofbothpoints

ofview.

60

In the 1980s a series of seventy-four contemporary drawings was created by two

Austrianartists,GunterBrusandArnulfRainer,whichappropriatedmultiple19thCentury

science-based botanical nature prints in an oddly disrespectful way. Some of their

drawings,likethoseofTwombly,werereproducedinaseriesofprints.Theappropriated

original images were used as a backdrop, and the plants’ connection to the newly

applied,somewhatconvolutedcontemporaryartcontextisnotclear,withskulls,body

parts, psychosexual imagery, insects, arrows, words and expressive lines almost

obliterating the background images.89 Those two artists drew over the top of the

beautifuloriginalimagesoftheplantswithoutanyapparentregardtotheoriginalflora.

Oneofthemostsurprisingaspectsforme,wasinreadingtheTateGallery’sdescription

oftheserieswhichstatedthat“…on29September1989,Brusrecalledthattheideato

makeaseriesofetchingsbasedonbotanicalimagescamefromthepublishersSabine

KnustandHeikeCurtze.”90Theideatodrawontopoftheplantimagesdidnotcome

fromtheartiststhemselves,andtheypursuedanextensiveseriesofworkswithoutdue

regardtothemeaningandcompositionsoftheimagestheyweredefacing.

Perhapscareshouldbetaken,andethicalandmoralconsiderationscouldbeconsidered,

whenremovingsomethingfromonecontextintoanotherandrepurposingitinaway

that the original illustrator or imagemakermay not be supportive of. As previously

discussed,inthepastsomeLandArtistsworkedinwaysthatwereactivelydetrimental

to theenvironments theyused for their creativepractice, and in thepresent time it

seemsunlikelythattheywouldgetpermissiontomakesomeofthoseworks.Damaging

anaturalenvironmentanddamagingsomeoneelse’simageperhapsbothindicatealack

ofinsightandforethought.91

89Asfurthercontext,BrusandRainermovedfromSurrealismtoVienneseActionismandExpressionism,andtheirworksalsoincludedcontentiousanimalsacrificesinritualperformance.Adeeperanalysisandcritiqueoftheirworkisbeyondthescopeandremitofthisthesis.ContextualinformationsourcedfromDeborahWyeandWendyWeitman,EyeonEurope:Prints,BooksandMultiples,1960toNow(NewYork:MOMA,2006),152-153.90TateGallery,“GunterBrus,ArnulfRainer,”TateGallery:IllustratedCatalogueofAcquisitions1986-88,lastmodifieddateunrecorded,accessedJuly20,2017,http://www.tate.org.uk/art/artworks/brus-rainer-no-title-p7723691Manyyearsago,Isoldapieceofworkfromanexhibition,andseveralyearslaterIwasinvitedtodinneratthehomeofthecouplewhohadboughtthework.Tomydismay,thewomanhadopenedthebackoftheframe,removedtheworkandrepaintedwhiteareasred,tomatchhernewlyrefurbisheddiningroom.Thisthoughtlessactleftmespeechless,andfromthatpointonIstartedtomoredeeplyquestionmyownappropriation of other images, and tomore carefully consider the ethics of using thework of otherswithoutduecareandfullacknowledgement.

61

Much has improved over time. I have looked at many books of early botanical

illustrationsinseveralHerbariumLibrariesaroundtheworld,andhaveoftenwondered

who the unknown artists and unacknowledged illustrators were who created the

beautifulstudies.Oftentheplantcollector’snameisnotedandrecordedforposterity,

butnottheartistorscientificillustrator,andyetitisthedrawingorimage,justasmuch

asthebotanicalnotes,whichcommunicateknowledgeandwhichengageourattention

withtheirbeauty.Thosetimesarehappilyinthepast,andwemustnowensurethatwe

appropriatelyacknowledge image sourcesand copyright.A similarexpectation could

perhaps be placed on contemporary artists, who use and reinterpret images and

scientificstatisticsrelatingtoclimatechange,andwhorepurposethemfortheirown

use.Inthepresenttime,AustralianartistssuchasJohnWolseleyandJudyWatsonhave

produced images that create a specific bridge between plants and environmental

change,andbothartistshaveperiodicallyusedscientificdiagrams,chartsandmapsin

thebackgroundstotheirdrawings,somethingthat Ihavealsoexplored inmyearlier

works. JohnWolseley’sDesertVentifactsand theKeelingCurve, (2010), consistsofa

progressiveinstallationdrawingofwhathedescriptivelycalls“paperventifacts.”92The

piecesofpaperaremarkedwithdirtfromtheearthandfoldedintodimensionalrelief

forms,appearingtofloataboveandbelowtheimpliedgraphline,reminiscentofpieces

ofrubbishbeingcarriedbyawarmwind,orpaperaeroplanesbeingpulledalongina

currentofair.AsWolseleycomments,“Here,stolenfromscience,isawonderfulimage

ofabreathingworld…[but]Wearereachingapointofnoreturn.”93

Wolseleygoesontodescribehimselfasa“…hybridmixofartistandscientist”andhis

bodyofworkappearspredominantlyframedby,andasfittingthedefinitionsof,EcoArt

ratherthanSciArt,particularlyinhisowndescriptionsofit.94Thisworkdemonstrates

hishybridapproach,withscienceandecologicalimagerybeingblendedtogether,and

withtheresultingecologicallyinspiredimagesdisplayedonanopenwebsite.

92Aventifactisastoneshapedbytheerosiveactionofwind-blownsand,andwithinthiscontext,asdescribedbyJohnWolseley,heleaveshispapersoutsidetobesimilarlymarkedanderodedbytheenvironmentandweather.JohnWolseley,“Carboniferous,”roslynoxley9gallery,lastmodifiedSeptember9,2010,http://www.roslynoxley9.com.au/news/releases/2010/09/09/189/93Ibid.94JohnWolseley,“Homepage,”JohnWolseleyWebsite,lastmodified2017,http://johnwolseley.net

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Figure13.JohnWolseley,DesertVentifactsandtheKeelingCurve,2010,mixedmedia,sizeunrecorded.ShownattheCarboniferousexhibitionatroslynoxley9gallery,September2010.

Themarksmadeonthepaperventifactsactasmemoriesandimpressionsofnature,

and he notes that, “Having beenmade soft fromdews and showers, and dried and

tossedbythewind,theyhadbecomefixedinavarietyofsculpturalforms.Throughthis

flightofpaperventifactsIhavedrawnanenlargedversionofoneofthemostsignificant

scientificdiagramsofourtime.TheKeelingCurve,madeattheMaunaLoaobservatory

inHawaii,plotstheriseinCO2intheatmospherefrom1958tothepresent–asharply

rising line which I have juxtaposed on the gallery wall with the rise and fall of my

wanderingventifacts.”95

RelevanttothediscussioninChapterThree,thedrawingscreatedbyWolseleyattract

us through an eloquent use of beauty, and also educate us about the status of the

naturalenvironment.Theartistacknowledgesthisintent,saying,“Iliketothinkthatthe

largeworksonpaperonwhichIassemblethesedifferentdrawingmethodsrepresenta

kindofinventoryordocumentaboutthestateoftheearth.Iwanttorevealboththe

energy and beauty of it, as well as show its condition of critical or even terminal

change.”96

95JohnWolseley,“Carboniferous,”roslynoxley9gallery,lastmodifiedSeptember9,2010,http://www.roslynoxley9.com.au/news/releases/2010/09/09/189/96Ibid.

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Theredeploymentofdiagramsthathavebeendesignedforaspecificscientificpurpose

into artworks, can forge new connections and inspire new creative forms.Wolseley

statesthat,“Iseemyselfas…onewhotriestorelatetheminutiaeofthenaturalworld–

leaf, feather, and beetle wing – to the abstract dimensions of the earth’s dynamic

systems.”97Hefrequentlycombinesmeasurements,marksmadebyfoundobjects,and

mapsintothismix.

Thiscombinationofmicroandmacroworldviewsalsocomesthroughstronglyinmany

of his mixed media drawings. In Figure 14, History of the Whipstick Forest with

ephemeralswampsandgoldbearingreefs(2011)Wolseleyanchorsthelayeredimages

on top of a diagram of an earlymap, describing the work as bringing together the

“histories of three kinds of time: the ‘deep time’ of geology, ‘shallow time’ since

Europeanarrival,and‘nowtime’…”98ThisbringstomindthedescriptionsofElizabeth

KolbertinTheSixthExtinction,whereshelookedatlayersofrocksandsawthebigger

pictureofthepassageofearth’slonghistory,andtheinsignificantsmallmomentthat

representshumantimeinthegeologicalrecord.

Wolseley’s observation that much of this landscape has endured extensive human

changeacrosstime,isadeptlyrenderedinthedrawing,whichinitselfseemstoechothe

artist’s description as being “battered, torn up and churned over” and yet still

reinventing itself with remarkable resilience. Into this subtle and beautiful drawing

Wolseleyintegratesthewritingsofearlierexplorers,andhealsoincludesthe“folding

andunfoldingofstrata,”alongsidetheevidenceofhumansettlement.99

PlantsfeaturestronglyinWolseley’sdrawings,andheisdeeplyconcernedabouttheir

survival.His2001cataloguefortheexhibitionTracingtheWallaceLineislikeanartist’s

book,andheintegrateshisownwrittenobservationsalongsidehisdrawings.Oneentry

reads, “Spent the last few days drawing plant specimens in the Herbarium.”100 The

HerbariumCuratorlookedataseedWolseleywasdrawingandtoldhimheshouldtake

97Ibid.98JohnWolseley,“HeartlandandHeadwaters,”JohnWolseleyWebsite,lastmodified2017,http://johnwolseley.net/exhibitions/john-wolseley-heartlands-and-headwaters99Ibid.100JohnWolseley,TracingtheWallaceLine,(Bendigo:BendigoArtGallery,2001).Exhibitioncatalogue.n.p.

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care,astheseedwas“thelastknownspecimenfromatreewhichisprobablyextinct.”

Wolseleypoeticallygoesontosaythat“Thedelicatelyfadedfruitwithitslongslender

wingsthenbecameinmyhandsanobjectofsuchpoignancy.”Thisdescribesexactlymy

ownfeelingswhenIdrewtheHerbariumsamplesofthenowextinctBennett’sSeaweed,

intheworkTheShapeofLoss,whichwasdiscussedintheIntroductiontothisthesis.

SashaGrishin,inhis2006monographJohnWolseleyLandmarksII,writesthattheartist

“…seeksnotonlytoempiricallyobserveandrecordthelandscape,hedesirestointeract

with it and to celebrate the wilderness which lies both in the human soul and in

nature.”101Wolseleyapproacheshisresearchandartworkwithamindfulperspective,

andhismixedmediadrawingscommunicateapalpablesenseofenergy,oftenpaired

withareasofstillness,mediationandcalmwithinthesamecomposition.

Thedualityofthehumanconnectiontonatureisexploredfurther,whenGrishinstates

that “A holistic outlook, where humankind is part of nature, is fundamental to

Wolseley’sartisticpractice,wherethewildernessisnottheexternal‘other’withwhich

thesentimentalurbandwellerengagesinmomentsofexistentialdespair,butispartof

theintrinsicinternal‘self’ofeachperson.”102Wolseley’sdrawingssubtlypersuadeus,

andcommunicateadeepandabidingpassionfornature,andforplantsinparticular.As

Wolseleyhimselfsaid,“IpaintwhatIcareabout,whatIloveandfeelisindanger.”103

JohnWolseleyandJudyWatsonsimilarlyusediagramsofscientificmeasurementsof

changeasbackgroundstotheirdrawings,andtheyarebothcontemporaryAustralian

artistswhosharealovefor,andconcernrelatingto,ecologyandnaturalenvironments.

LiketheworkofWolseley,Watson’simagesfeaturesubtlylayereddiagrams,scientific

charts,andrelatedgeometricmarks.

101SashaGrishin,JohnWolseleyLandmarksII(Melbourne:CraftsmanHouse/Thames&Hudson,2006),23.102Ibid.,115-116.103Ibid.,166.

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Figure14.JohnWolseley,HistoryoftheWhipstickForestwithephemeralswampsandgoldbearingreefs,2011,watercolour,charcoalandpencilontwosheets,234x287cm.

Watson’s residency onHeron Island in theGreat Barrier Reef sawher appropriately

acknowledgeandrespectthescientificauthorshipofthechartsshefeaturedinherprint

series, unlike Twombly, Brus and Rainer in the previously discussedworks from the

1970s and 1980s. While Watson does credit the sources of the diagrams, the

relationshipbetweentheplantimagesandthechartsinherworkisnotalwaysclear,

andtheyaresometimesusedwithconfusingassociations.

Inaworktitled#19forexample,twolandleafformsfloatoverseveralchartsrelatingto

thegraphsandmeasurementofsearelatedcoral,turtlesandfeedingfrequency,and

theleavesareleftuntitled.Wemighthopethatscientistsandjournalistswouldrespect

anduse theworkandcontributionsofartists,andconversely thatartistswouldalso

ensurethatscientificformsandstatisticsarealsoappropriatelyusedandapplied,rather

thanperhapsincludingthemfortheirdecorativevalue.

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A more considered integration between ecological concerns being expressed and

approachedinTransmediaArtwaysmightassistthepublicinafullerappreciationofthe

resultingartwork.KeelingCurvebyWolseleycanbecomparedwithWatson’searlier

2009drawingofaplant,PisoniaWithAcidificationGraph,whichwasused,sixyearsafter

itscreation,toillustrateaclimatechangearticleinTheGuardiannewspaperonMarch

10,2015,showninFigure15.

I particularly like this vivid and arresting drawing, and can readily understand the

relationshipbetweenacidificationgraphs,whichshowanincreaseinthelineatthebase

oftheimage,andtheimpactofthisnegativechangeonthefuturehealthofthePisonia

plant. The asymmetric plant is centrally placed and removed from its natural

environment, and this dislocation seems to suggest that it is alone, vulnerable and

somehowatrisk.

Figure15.JudyWatson,PisoniawithAcidificationGraph,2009.Acrylicandchinagraphpenciloncanvas,214.5x191.5cm.(InBillMcKibben,“ClimateFightWon’tWaitforParis:vivelaresistance,”TheGuardian,March10,2015.)

67

Three other works by Watson were included in McKibben’s article, but none were

directlyreferredto,andwhenthearticleisprintedoutonlythecoverimageofPisonia

isretained–theotherthreeimagesdonotappearintheprintedversion,whichalso

speakstotheirprimarilydecorative,notusefulorintegratedapplication.104Watsonhas

madefurtherworksinthisseries,whichshowtheeffectsoffloodsandothernatural

disastersonthelandscape,includingalgaebloom,andsomeoftheseimagesalsouse

specificscientificmapsappropriatelyascontextintheirbackgrounds.Theartworkswere

exhibited in 2009 following a period as Artist in Residence on Heron Island, where

Watson worked with the scientists who were measuring the increasingly negative

changes toplantsandanimalson,and in, thewatersaround the island in theGreat

BarrierReefNationalPark.105

The work of both Wolseley and Watson integrates scientific diagrams into the

compositional arrangement, and the main environmental communication about

endangeredplantsisthatimbuedandindividuallyinterpretedbythepersonviewingthe

final artwork. Although Watson’s 2009 work Pisonia With Acidification Graph was

repurposedforTheGuardianarticlein2015,thedrawingwasunfortunatelynotdirectly

used or described in thewriting, so it did not serve an active additional illustrative

purpose,ordirectlycontribute to theenvironmentalmessagebeingdescribed in the

text, which is different to the earlier, more deliberate and consciously designed

transmediaapproachtakenbyChristoandthecommissioningeditorsatTimeMagazine.

Themore recentuseof scientific facts anddiagramsbeing integratedaspart of the

contextualbridgeinthecreationofnewformsofartworkshasalongerhistory.While

ontheonehandWolseleyandWatsonhavebothreceivedpositiverecognition,thework

of anearlier Swiss artist, CorneliaHesse-Honegger,wasmore contentious.Originally

trained in scientific illustration, Hesse-Honegger became interested in the impact of

nuclear reactor leakson the surroundingnaturalenvironment,and in the1980sand

1990screatedaseriesofstudiesofinsectsandplants,showingthedeformationoftheir

104BillMcKibben,“ClimateFightWon’tWaitforParis:vivelaresistance,”TheGuardian,lastmodifiedMarch10,2015,https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2015/mar/09/climate-fight-wont-wait-for-paris-vive-la-resistance105TheUniversityofQueensland,“JudyWatson’sHeronIslandArtworksAlertDangerinParadise,”lastmodifiedOctober5,2009,https://www.uq.edu.au/news/article/2009/10/judy-watson’s-heron-island-artworks-alert-danger-paradise

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forms. While admired and lauded by the artistic community, she was surprisingly

criticisedby the scientific community for exhibitingher drawings in art galleries and

writingabouttheresearch,withouttheuseofcontrolgroups,asmightbeexpectedin

apurelyscientificpaper.106Yetherbeautifuldrawingsandpaintingshaveapowerful

agency.

Hesse-Honegger’sworkhashadasignificantimpactonmeinthetwentyyearssinceI

first encountered it, in a similar way to holding the small book of lichen studies by

Margaret Flockton. After I saw Hesse-Honegger’s delicately rendered images of

deformedandmutatedinsectsandplants,ifIsawaleafcurledinonitself,ortornor

damaged,Iwouldthinkoftheresponsesherworkprovoked.Inonecase,afterHesse-

Honegger had exhibited her drawings of damaged leaves, she returned to the same

place,andfoundthetreeshadbeencutdownandthe‘evidence’removedatthesiteof

thenuclearleak.HerartworkbearswitnesstotheimpactoftheChernobyldisaster,and

thenlaterofothernuclearreactorsonthenaturalenvironment,andherfrequentuse

ofgraphpapersuggestsasenseofscientificmeasurementandnegativedecline, ina

similar way to Wolseley’s use of measurement Keeling Curve, and in Watson’s

background use of acidification graphs and lines. Hesse-Honegger achieves an

interesting duality in her drawings, as we are absorbed by their beauty before we

registerthesubtlevariationsanddeformationssheobservesonleavesandinsects.She

doesnotdrawthesubject inacontext,but rathermaps themout in sequencesand

patterns,andthisenhancestheirmeditativeappeal.

The contemporary British artist Michael Landy has also worked with plants and

environmental degradation. Nourishment, completed in 2002, features a series of

twelvedrawingsofmarginalisedweedswhichhefoundgrowingaroundhiminLondon.

Hetransplantedandpersonallycaredforsomeoftheseplants,andthestudieshemade

werecollectedinafinalportfoliooflimitededitionetchings.UnliketheworkofBrusand

106Thepressreleasefromherwebsitesays,inpart,that“Herpublicationscreatedconsiderablecontroversyinthemedia.Scientistsreactedwithscepticismifnotoutrighthostilitytowardsherfindings.Inthefollowingyears,popularinterestinthe‘nuclearthreat’diminishedbutshecontinuedwithherresearch,making‘manmadedestructioninnature’visiblebypaintingdisturbedleafbugs,andmakingprotocols,mapsandbooks.”CorneliaHesse-Honegger,“FieldStudyintheEnvironsofSwissNuclearPowerPlantsinEntlebuchCanton,Lucerne,Switzerland,”CurrentProjects,lastmodified2008,http://www.wissenskunst.ch/uk/current-projects/1/

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Rainer,hereweseeacontemporaryartistwhoseworkusestheconventionsofscientific

illustrationinawaywhichseemstoconnecttothestatedintent,andwhich,relatedto

theaimsofthisthesis,rendersadrawingofaplantinanenvironmentallymeaningful

andvisuallymemorableway.Inspiteoftheirunderclassstatusaslesserplantsandpests,

Landy’s carefully considered studies of weeds suggests the historical traditions of

scientificillustrationnormallyreservedbybotanistsformorenotablespecies.Ilikethis

contradictionanddichotomyinLandy’sapproach,andtheoverarchingsimplicityofhis

drawnimages.AsinmuchofHesse-Honegger’swork,theisolatedrelationshipoffigure

togroundseemstomaketheplantsthemselvesappearalittlelostandvulnerable,and

the lightnessofthemarks,particularly insomeofthesmallerdrawings,makesthem

look as though they might fade away into the expanse of white paper. Creeping

Buttercup,showninFigure16,hasanevocativethree-dimensionalquality,andfragile

and lonely as the plant appears, the roots conversely look tenacious and strong, as

thoughreadytobereplantedandrevived.

Figure16.MichaelLandy,CreepingButtercup,fromtheseriesNourishment,2002.Pencilonpaper,39x55cm.

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ThispresentsapointofdifferencetoWatson’sPisonia,wherethebranchoftheplant

appears broken off, and rootless. Rachel Taylor, writing about Creeping Buttercup,

commented that the artist calls the weeds “street flowers,” and she adds, “Landy

collectedanumberoftheseplantsandtookthembacktohisstudiowherehepotted

andtendedthem,makingstudiesoftheirstructuresincludingdetailedrenderingsof

roots,leavesandflowers.”107

OtherartistswhoseworkfocusesonenvironmentalconcernswereincludedintheArt+

Climate = Change publication,which cameas a result of twenty-five exhibitions and

forty-fivepublicprogramshostedinMelbournein2015,andthenagaininasimilarly

ambitiousanddiverseprogramin2017.Thebookwhichflowedfromthefirst2015event

waspublishedretrospectivelyin2016.Itincludedtheworkofmanyoftheartistswho

exhibitedduringtheeventperiod,andsomeoftheessaysprovideadditional insights

intothedifferentapproachestaken.

Onework inparticularresonatedwithme,thesmall-scaleUntitledpencildrawingby

ManabuIkeda,whichmeasuredjust46x61cm,showninFigure17.ThisJapaneseartist

iswellknownforhismeticulousandhighlyimaginativedreamscapedrawings,andthey

areusuallyrenderedinpenandink.Mostofhispreviousworkshavetakenbetweentwo

andthreeyearstocomplete,andtheirdenseandcompleximageryisonamuchlarger,

fullwallscalethatincorporatescolourasakeyfeature.Thismorerecentmonochrome

pencildrawing, ishowever, fundamentallydifferent. I respondedto itsquietstillness

and subtle combination of a nuclear cooling tower overgrown by an encroaching,

regeneratedforest.Itseemstosuggestafuturetime,aftersomeeventwherehumans

arenolongerpresentorimpactingonnature’secology.Thebackgroundmistsoftens

the formof the trees,andaholistic senseofcalmseems topervade thesimple,yet

compellingsymmetryofthecomposition.

SeveraloftheworksdescribedinChapterTwodemonstratetheutilisationofdrawing

techniqueswhichenhanceanaestheticofbeauty,andthesedevicesincludetheuseof

symmetry,balance,reductiveselectionofcolour,andsimplicity,amongstothers.

107RachelTaylor,“MichaelLandy,CreepingButtercup2002,Summary,”TateGallery,lastmodifiedDecember2003,http://www.tate.org.uk/art/artworks/landy-creeping-buttercup-p78730

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Figure17.Manabu Ikeda,Untitled,dateunrecorded.Pencilonpaper,mountedonboard,46x61cm.PhotobyMiyajimaKei.MizumaArtGallery,Tokyo.

AsignificantnumberofartistsintheArt+Climate=Changecollectivedemonstratethe

diverseandoftenvisuallydirectwaysthattheyviewclimaticandenvironmentalissues.

Somearedidacticandconveyaclearlycommunicated,somewhatbluntwarning,but

otherslikeManabuIkedaremindusinsteadofthefragilebeautyofthenaturalworld.

Theseglimpsesofsomethingcalmer,cansubtlyengageouremotionalresponses,and

remindusof ourpsychological need to also seeandbedrawn inbybeauty. Ikeda’s

drawingisprofoundandyetsosimple–itsparedbackimagetakesourmindsintothat

forest,wherewesensethattheairisfresherthanitusedtobe,andthebirdsongnow

moreprevalent,perhaps.Themachinerypoweringthecoolingtowerhasfallensilent,

andnowwemayhearandseeotherthingsfromournaturalworldintheirplace.Aswe

observe the overgrown, wild vegetation, slowly we see some tiny markers and

indicationsofprevioushumanhabitation in the foreground–abroken lineof street

lamps,andasmalldwellingwhichappearsuninhabited.

Further research has indicated that Ikeda has produced three other small scale

monochrome pencil drawings of trees, which also appear to explore aspects of the

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coexistenceandcontradictionsofnaturewiththehumanspecies.Increasinglyhisother

larger scale colourful pen and ink drawings have explored the aftermath of various

disasterssuchasnuclearreactorleaks,earthquakesandtheirresultingtsunamis.Ikeda’s

biggerworkshaveanoverwhelming‘end-of-the-world’sensibility,andthestillnessof

theUntitleddrawingdiscussedinthisthesis,insteadevokesbiophilia,andstandsapart

fromhislargerscaleepic,andfreneticdrawings.

MostoftheartistswhoseworkisfeaturedintheArt+Climate=Change2016publication

usephotographicprocesses.This isanotherreasonwhy Ikeda’sworkresonatedwith

me,as thehumanqualityofmarkshemadeon the surfaceof thepaper seemed to

provoke,notlimitmyimaginationandemotionalconnectiontothedrawing,inaway

similar to the previously discussed works byMargaret Flockton, JohnWolseley and

Cornelia Hesse-Honegger. I found it harder to feel engaged by several of the

photographsbyotherartistsinthesamepublication,whichsometimesseemedtohave

astrongersenseofenvironmentalreportingthananEcoArtaestheticwhichinvolved

theviewerinadeeperway.Wehaveperhapsbecomeusedtoseeingsuchphotographs

in our newspapers of birds on beaches choked by pollution, of oil spills devastating

natural environments, of people wearing gas masks, and of toxic waste in rubbish

dumps.Theterm‘news-feed’seemstoaptlysummarisetheseeminglyconstantstream

ofeverchangingphotosononlinenewspages.Frommyobservations,thejournalismof

thephotographicessayhasnowevolvedtoincludeinteractivemapsandmultipleside

pageswhich are just one click away –more,more,more, informationwhich seems

predominantly about the pessimistic state of our world. Statistics on anxiety and

depressionshowasteadilyworseningpicture,andecoanxietyhasbeenrecognisedasa

definedsubset,linkedtofeelingsofhelplessnessandresignation.108

108“Tocompoundtheissue,thepsychologicalresponsestoclimatechange,suchasconflictavoidance,fatalism,fear,helplessness,andresignationaregrowing.Theseresponsesarekeepingus,andournation,fromproperlyaddressingthecorecausesofandsolutionsforourchangingclimate,andfrombuildingandsupportingpsychological resiliency…People’swillingness to support andengage in climate solutions islikelytoincreaseiftheycanrelatethemtolocalexperiencesor iftheyseetherelevancetotheirownhealthandwell-being.”ThisechoesthepointsaboutclimatechangeavoidancemadebyNaomiKlein.SusanClaytonWhitmore-Williams,ChristieManning,KirraKrygsman,MeighenSpeiser,“MentalHealthandOurChangingClimate:Impacts,Implications,andGuidance,”(Washington,D.C.:APA&ecoAmerica,2017).

73

InspiteofmyreservationsaboutsomeofthephotographsintheArt+Climate=Change

exhibitions,Ihadapositiveandemotionalresponsetooneparticularphotographicwork

inthepublication,becauseofthewayinwhichthephotographwasunusuallydeveloped

andprintedontoanatural,foundobject.DavidBuckland’sseriesShards,2012,shown

inFigure18,arephotographsofabstractedorganic cell-like structuresexposedonto

fragilechalkpieces.Theycollectivelycreateasenseofafossilrelicfromthefuture,and

theviewercanmakeassociationsbetweenthenaturalformsandthehandsofthefoetus

shownstillwithinthewomb–innocent,notyetreal,andstillsomehowimpactful.These

hand-sizedshardsallowaphysicalclosenesstotheimagesinamoredirectandtangible

way.ThisworkinfluencedmythinkingabouthowtousetheFisherLibraryglassvitrine

caseswhen the opportunitywas offered tome at the end of 2015. Like Buckland’s

Shards, the Fisher cases have a black background, and compartments separated by

smallersubsetsandpartitions.Iwasabletoexperimentandexplorewithmorethree

dimensionalforms;thisisdescribedinChapterFour.

Figure18.DavidBuckland,ChalkShards1-6,2012.Photoengravedchalk,sizesvarious.

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As previously discussed, there are a number ofways that scientific diagrams canbe

conceptuallyblendedintothecreationofnewworks.Inadditiontodiagramsbeingused

asthebackgroundandoverarchingcontexttoacomposition,asexploredbyWolseley

andWatson, artists can also consider othermethods scientists use to communicate

climatechangeinformationinvisualways.Onemethodisthecomparisonoftwoimages

showing change, often in a timeline of before-and-after. In many cases this has

demonstrated an erosion of some sort, such as the diminishing size of the Amazon

rainforest,globalglaciers,andmeltingpolaricecaps.Comparativediagramsproduced

byscientists,botanistsandgeographerscanalsoconverselyshowgrowth,suchasinthe

enlargingofcityboundaries,andtheresultinglossofnaturalhabitats,orincreasesin

introducedspeciesattheexpenseofthesurroundingnaturalecosystems.

TheworkoftheAustralianartistDebbieSymonsispositionedintheconnectionbetween

the measurement of science and the artistic interpretation of data. Her short film

Amazonia(2015)exploredthis.Thefilmintegratedstatisticsnotjustonthediminishing

size of the rainforest, but also conversely in increases in commercial capitalism and

trade. The timeline tracks the reduction of one juxtaposedwith the increase of the

other. In several of the recent exhibitions focusing on climate change, some sort of

collaborationbetweenartistsisdemonstrated,andSymons’workwasalsoshowninthe

2015Art+Climate=Changeexhibitions.Althoughherfilmincludesstatisticalreferences

andsubtitlesinthesamewayasvisualcommunicationmightdo,Symons’imagewas

exhibitedinanartgallery,andinstalledwiththematicallylinkedsculpturesinashow

whichinterconnectedherworkwithothers.109

Thisfilmcreatesabridgebetweenstaticdrawings,anddrawingswhicharemovedinto

combined, transmedia contexts, and frequently intonewsitesbeyond traditionalart

galleries.TransmediaArtfrequentlyusesaninterdisciplinaryapproachtoinvestigatethe

communicativepotentialofart.RecentinstallationslikeSymons’,incorporatefilmand

othermediawhichshowevidenceoftheimpactofclimatechange,suchasstatistics.

MergingandintegratingdifferentformsofcommunicationistypicalofTransmediaArt.

Thescienceofclimatechangeandthewaysaspectsofthissciencearebeingdirectly

109DebbieSymons,“Amazonia,2015,”lastmodified2015,http://debbiesymons.com.au/amazonia/

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used by artists, can influence and framewhere the artwork is situated inwhat is a

relatively new field of research. Transmedia Art works across and within different

systems, often blurring the boundaries between artistic techniques. My thesis also

exploreshowdrawingmaybeextendedfurtherintoothermediaandnewlocationsin

alternativeways, and this isdiscussed further in ananalysisofmyownartworkand

outcomesinChapterFour.

ItcouldbearguedthatthepreviouslydiscussedWrappedGlobebyChristoisanearly

exampleofsomethingwemightcallatransmediapieceofart,asitwasdeliberatelyand

consciouslycreatedwiththataiminmind,tomovepeopletoactionthroughviewingit

onthecoverofahighcirculationmagazine,andnotinanartgalleryorwithinanatural

landscape.Italsoneededtoworkvisuallyonamuchsmallerthanlifesizescale,andin

conjunctionwithtextandtitles.TransmediaArtnarrativessuchasWrappedGlobebuild

onthetechniqueoftellingastoryorembeddinganimageacrossmultipleplatforms,

andartworkssuchasthesehaveinfluencedtheinterconnectionofartwithothermedia.

Theintentionofsuchworksseemstobenotonlytoreachandimpactonalargerand

wider audience, but also to explore the story in amore expanded,memorable and

potentiallyintegratedway.Christooftenfilmedandphotographedhisdrawings,work

processandtheritualofwrappingobjectsandplaces,andhisotherartworkshavealso

sometimesbeenfurtherextendedandusedinatransmediawaytopromoteactivism

onenvironmentalissues,asevidencedbyWrappedGlobe.

Viewing and reframing Christo’s work through the lens of Jenkins’ transmedia

definitions,wemaysaythatWrappedGlobeisadaptedbyTimeMagazine,whichtells

thesamestorywithinitspages.Italso,however,extendsthestoryofChristo’sartwork

by adding additional content and other interrelated imageswithin the pages of the

magazineitself.Jenkinsintendstheadaptationandextensiondistinctiontoenhanceour

understandingofadditivecomprehension,atermusedbygamedesignerNeilYoungto

explain how each new format contributes towards our comprehension and

interpretation of the overarching story.110 Since one of the intents of Transmedia

Storytellingistodeepenaudienceengagement,italsoseemstohavesomerelevance

110HenryJenkins,“DefiningTransmediaFurther,”lastmodifiedJuly31,2011,http://henryjenkins.org/blog/2011/08/defining_transmedia_further_re.html

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and the potential for a more conscious, yet different application in the creation of

artworkimbuedwithenvironmentalmessages.Thetransmediaapproachisfrequently

predesignedandconsciouslyintended,versusamultimodalapproachwhichsometimes

usesdifferentmodesinanunsequencedarrangement.Conversely,Watson’sPisoniain

TheGuardianarticle isnotTransmediaArtsince itwasreproducedinthenewspaper

article,butnotadaptedorextended inanyway–bynotusingorreferringto it, the

journalistdiminisheditspotentialtransmediause,andalsoitsadditivecomprehension

value.

There is another aspect of the transmedia perspective which is relevant to the

overarching theme of this thesis, and that is in its method of modelling serialised

structures,whichunfoldastoryprogressivelyoveraperiodoftime.Serialisedstructures

frequentlyusedispersal,wherethestory isbroken into interconnectedsections,and

chunking,wheremoremeaningfulpartsaretakenandhighlightedinsomeway.Ideally,

eachmediummakesitsownuniquecontributiontotheunfoldingofdifferentaspectsof

atheme.Iexploredthisspecificconceptthroughaseriesofiterativeinstallationsinan

ongoingseriesattheFisherLibraryin2017,andthisisdescribedinChapterFour.

Wehaveseen immersive threedimensionalvirtualworldsmove fromthedomainof

gamingtoart,anditseemsareasonablebridgetohavetheprocessalsoworkinreverse,

where an artwork can be used as the starting point and focus for an interactive

transmediaexperiencerelatingtoenvironmentalconcerns,byutilisingdifferentmaking

conventions,operationalmodesandcontextualhistories.Artistsanddifferentmedia

requiredifferentkindsofrepresentation,andtheyarebothinfluencedbyalternative

waysofvisualisingnetworks.Jenkinsfurtherreferencesthisconceptwhenhedescribes

therecentconvergenceoftheseideasas“…aparadigmforthinkingaboutthecurrent

momentofmediachange,onewhichisdefinedthroughthelayering,diversification,and

interconnectivity ofmedia. Convergence contrastswith theDigital Revolutionmodel

whichassumedoldmediawouldbedisplacedbynewmedia.”111

111Ibid.

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Weno longerhavesingledominantartmovements,andthemultimodalmethodsof

mediausefrequentlycombinewithaspectsofarttoconcurrentlypromoteandenhance

theunderstandingof ideas.This is indicativeofdifferentwaysof thinkingaboutand

responding toproblems and issues. The introductionof increasingly complex, across

platformtoolshavealsoledtoablurringofboundariesbetweendisciplines,andhave

createdalternativewaysofgeneratingoriginalideas.Inadditiontomarches,petitions

toparliamentsandothermoretraditionalmethodsofinspiringcollectiveaction,Iassert

that Transmedia Art combined with Eco Art can potentially create and generate

momentumformoreaction,bothatapersonalandcommunitylevel.TransmediaArt

andEcoArt,asseeninthefurtheruseofDebbieSymons’filmsatinternationalclimate

changeconferencesandfestivals,enhancesissuesandgivesaudiencesmorethanone

wayofaccessinginformation,exploringitvisually,andbeinginfluencedbyitinperhaps

morepositivelyframedways.

Thereisaninterestingdifferencebetweenartworksbeingusedinthisway,andvisual

communication,suchasthedrawingsandanimationsseeninvideoswhichanimateand

tellrelatedstoriesandprovidefactsaboutclimatechange.Oneoftheseimagesontheir

owninisolationdoesnottellthestoryoremotionallyengagetheviewer,inthewaythat

ChristoorWatson’sartworkmightdo.Ineachofthosetwocasestheartist’simageof

theartworkisacompleteentity,whichworksasanemotiveandengagingformwithout

furthercontextbeingprovided.Theuseofpowerfulartimagesisnotjustasavesselfor

a message being visually communicated, but as a potential anchor to embed the

messagemoreclearlyinthemindoftheviewer.Beyondthatisanimportantaffective

process connected to artwork, and its ability to influence how we feel, what we

remember,andhowwereactandrespond.Thepowerofarttoviscerallyengagethose

who experience it can be both a positive and a negative however. As previously

discussedinChapterOne,aquotefromKlein’sbooksummarisedseveralcommonways

and tendencies people demonstrate to avoid feeling overwhelmed by the scale of

climatechange,andthiswasreinforcedbythemorerecentreportreferencedinthis

chapter.

Astimepasses,Icannotremembereachofthemultipledrawingsusedinvariousclimate

changevideos,buttheimagesofWatson’ssicklygreendrawingofaPisoniaplant,and

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Christo’sabandonedbeachglobe,arevisuallymemorableinafundamentallydifferent

way. Their art functions and has an impact on its own, in isolation from the added

context, inawaythatsomeexamplesfoundinvisualcommunicationtendnottodo.

From the distance of time I can still remember the image ofWatson’s drawing, but

unfortunatelynot thedetailsofwhatBillMcKibbenwrote inTheGuardianpieceher

workindirectlyillustrated.Thisprovokestheobservationandopenquestion-ifwedo

not remember the details of something, how likely are we to enact perceptual or

behaviouralchange?

Thisaspectofmemory,whatweremember,andwhy,tiesintorecentresearchwhich

hasprovidedinsightsintoourwaysofthinkingandunderstandingthevisualinthelight

of advances in 21st century learning. Dr JohnMedina is a developmental molecular

biologistandspecialistonthedevelopmentof thehumanbrain.HisNewYorkTimes

bestsellingbookBrainRules(2008),coversinformationrelatingtotheinfluencethata

numberoftopicshaveontheeffectiveworkingofourbrains,andtheseincludesensory

integration. He devotes a chapter to Vision, and concludes through statistically

measured analysis of current research that, “We learn and remember best through

pictures, not throughwrittenor spokenwords.”112He is quite specific in stating the

measuredoutcomesofresearchwhichindicatethat,“Ifinformationispresentedorally,

peoplerememberabout10%,tested72hoursafterexposure.Thatfiguregoesupto

65%ifyouaddapicture.”113Theimpactofclimatechangeimagesismorememorable

thanwritten text and discussion of the issues, and by inference, the use of climate

change art images can also have a strong impact on thememories and reactions of

audiences.Thisisdiscussedfurther,andthepointisdeveloped,inChapterThree.

Multipledrawingscanbecombinedtomemorablyrenderalargescalenaturalform,and

inthecaseofthenextwork,thesewereusedtocreateavirtualimpressionofthemoon.

ThecollaborationofOlafurEliassonandAiWeiweicommencedin2013,andusedthe

structuraldeviceofmapsofthemoontoproduceanongoingproject,wheretensof

thousandsofpeoplearoundtheworldwereinvitedtouploadblackandwhitedrawings

112JohnMedina,BrainRules,(Seattle:PearPress,2008),240.113Ibid.,234.

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of things that were meaningful to them. These were combined to create a new,

reconstructedlargescaleimageintheformofthemoon,whichcollectivelyproduceda

visuallymemorablepiecewhichworksinsomesensesatamicro,individuallevel,and

alsoatamacro,collaborativescale.EliassonandWeiweidocumenttheirartpracticesin

manydifferentwaysandmedia,andinmultiplecollaborations,andlikeChristotheyalso

recordthemethodsofmaking,andtheiterativeprogressofsomeoftheirwork.

Iwasparticularly interestedinthisprojectbecauseofthesmallpre-setscaleofeach

squaredrawing–this,coupledwiththerestricteduseofmonochromedrawingmarks,

suggestedthatsomesortofholisticoutcomemightbepossible.Whenyouareinvited

todrawanything,whatwouldyouchoose?Ifyouknowyourworkwillbecomepartofa

communityofimagesfortheworldtoopenlyaccess,whatsubjectwouldyouwantto

shareasareflectionofyourownperspectives?WhatIhadhopedandimaginedMoon

generating,andwhatiteventuallybecame,weresadlyoutofsync.

It is initially fascinating to watch the online documentation as the whole moon

progressivelydisintegratesandindividualdrawingscomeintofocus.Fouryearsonfrom

itsinception,theTwitterfeedisstillactivelyrecordingnewimagesandmessages,and

the website shows the rotating three-dimensional sphere as a whole. Eliasson

commentedthat“That’showwecameupwiththeMoon.ItusedtobepartofEarth.It’s

ourfriend,themarginalizedpartoftheearth. It’sthe ideathattheMoon represents

something unconscious from society.” Seeing the drawings of others recombinedby

thesetwoartistsprovidedmewithaninsightintotheirprocess,whichengagedpeople

interactivelytoconsiderbecomingpartofagreaterwhole.Participantsareencouraged

to,“Turnnothingintosomething–makeadrawing,makeamark.Connectwithothers

throughthisspaceofimagination.Lookatotherpeople’sdrawingsandsharethemwith

theworld. Be part of the growing community to celebrate how creative expression

transcends external borders and internal constraints.We are in thisworld together.

Ideas,windandairnoonecanstop.ENTER.”114

114OlafurEliassonandAiWeiwei,“Moon,”lastmodified2017,https://www.moonmoonmoonmoon.com

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Figure19.OlafurEliassonandAiWeiwei,Moon,2013–thepresent.Compositeimageofmultipledigitaldrawings,sizevariesandchangeswithinteractive,digitaldirectionfromtheviewer.

Moon isonamuchbiggerandmorecollaborativescalethanWolseley’sorWatson’s

drawings,buttheyshareacompositionalstructurewheremapsandscientificdiagrams

areusedasakey structuralpartof thehanddrawn images.Moonusesmultiplesof

digitaldrawings,mappedtogether,andWolseley’sKeelingCurveusesrepeatedpaper

pieceswhichcreateasenseofmovementfloatingaboveandbelowthegraphline.The

physical movement ofMoon engages the viewer in a heightened interactivity in a

mappedgrid,and,relevanttothisthesis,therearemanyimagesofplantswhichappear,

somewhich have been contributed to voluntarily bymultiple people, as in the two

examplesshowninFigures20and22.

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Figure20.AnartistidentifiedasVeraParadelovahasuploadedapproximately235seedshapesintheformofanopenpetalledflowerwithacentralcore.TheseedsarerenderedinasimilarwaytoAiWeiwei’sinstallationofsunflowerseedsattheTateGallery,whichthisdrawingappearstoreference.Uploaddated2014, fromMoon,2013 – the present. Composite image ofmultiple digital drawings, size varies andchangeswithdigitaldirectionfromtheviewer.

Figure 21. Vera Paradelova,detail – one of approximately235seedshapesrenderedinasimilar way to Ai Weiwei’sinstallationof sunflower seedsat the TateGallery,which thisdrawing appears to reference.Upload dated 2014. FromMoon, 2013 – the present.Composite image of multipledigitaldrawings,sizevariesandchanges with digital directionfromtheviewer.

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Figure22.Seeds,tree,leavesandrootsbymultipleartists,fromMoon,2013–thepresent.Compositeimageofmultipledigitaldrawings,sizevariesandchangeswithdigitaldirectionfromtheviewer.

ItwouldbeidealisticanddisingenuoustoinferthatMoonhasfulfilleditsstatedaims,

and thatmost of themore than 80,000participantswhohave nowgeneratedhand

drawn images have embraced the opportunity to reflect on and share the positive

aspectsofwhatitmeanstobehuman.Inreality,frommyobservations,unfortunately

themajorityofindividualimagesareactuallywrittentext,someofitoffensive,someof

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itself-serving,andsomeofitexplicitlyalarming.Manypornographicimagesappear,and

thereisanevidenttroll-liketendencyforonepersontoappeartoattempttointerlope

andspoilanother’sworkbyaddinginappropriateimagesorwordsnexttoit.Offensive

statementsdenigratingvariousreligiousgroups,Naziswastikas,andimagesofcatsall

combinetoleaveanuncomfortablesensethattheanonymityoftheuploadsbringsout

someoftheworst–andnotmostlythebest-ofhumanity. Inatelephoneinterview

conductedbyRobinCembalestforArtNews,Eliassonadmittedtotheobservedtoilet

humourthatabounds,adding“themen’stoiletatleast,”andheacknowledgedthat“It

is[an]oddmixturebetweenthereallycreative,andsidebysidebysomethingtotally

non-creative...Clearlywehavenocontroloverwhatisactuallygoingon.”115

Fromtheperspectiveofthisresearchthiswasadisappointingoutcome.Ihadconsidered

some formofopen, collaborativedrawingproject to raiseawarenessofendangered

plantspecies,intheinitialstagesofgeneratingideasforoutcomes.116Inorderforitto

beglobal,Ihadconsidereddigitallyuploadeddrawings,andthiswaswhatbroughtme

toexploreMoon.Iwasdismayedanddissuadedbymanyoftheimages,andwondered

ifitwasananomaly,perhapsrelatedtothe‘tallpoppy’statusofEliassonandWeiwei.

AsIresearchedfurther,thenextcollaborativeinternationaldrawingprojectIlookedat,

Superfreedraw, confirmed my perspective that open uploads suffered from diverse

difficulties,andconsiderableissuesrelatedtouncensoredimages.117Superfreedrawis

stillactive,andhashadinexcessof150,000uploadsfromallovertheworld,andon

everyoccasionIhaveaccessedit,racist,pornographicandoffensivewordsandimages

appearatrandom,includingdrawnimagesofpaedophiliaandincest.AswithMoon,on

multiple occasions, when someone does attempt to draw something beautiful, it is

obscuredbyanoffensive imagedrawnbysomeoneelseoverthetop.Superfreedraw

havepublishedabookof theseuncensored images, andhave received international

115RobinCembalest,“HowAiWeiweiandOlafurEliassonGot35,000PeopletoDrawontheMoon,”ArtNews,lastmodifiedDecember19,2013,http://www.artnews.com/2013/12/19/how-ai-weiwei-and-olafur-eliasson-got-35000-people-to-draw-on-the-moon/116Thereareasurprisingnumberofthesecollaborativeartprojects,andmostthatIhaveinvestigatedseemtorelatetodrawing,andofteninmonochrome.ExamplesofsuchinitiativesaretheGlobalDrawProject:VisualiseandConnect,theInternationalCollaborativeDrawingProject,andTheSketchbookProject.Asdetailedabove,myideatoinitiateanopencollaborativeprojectdidnotprogressduetothereservationsIhadabouttheobjectivelyobservedoutcomesofbothMoonandSuperfreedraw,thereforetheotherwebsiteswerenotultimatelyused,andasaresultarenotlistedintheBibliography.117Authorunknown,“Superfreedraw,”Homepage,lastmodified2017,http://www.superfreedraw.com

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presscoverage,andIamsurprisedbythelackofcriticisminrelationtobothMoonand

Superfreedraw.IhavenotreferencedtheSuperfreedrawpublicationbecauseIdidnot

wanttogofurtherdownapathwhereIwouldhavetoconsideror justifycensorship

myself,orenter intoadeeperdiscussionabout thenegativesofcollaborative,open,

globaldrawingprojects.

This was further demonstrated by a disclaimer in another, this time restricted

collaborativedrawingwebsite,TheBigPictureArtProject,whichstated,“Wereserve

theright torefuseany imageor textofahateful, racistordiscriminatorynature.”118

Frommyobservationsandresearch,theaimandpublicimageofwhatwasintendedby

bothMoonandSuperfreedrawwassignificantlydifferenttotheoutcomeandreality,

andittaughtmeanimportantlesson–noteveryonecaresinthewayIdoaboutnature

andbeauty.Thisknowledgeanddeeperquestioningoftheprojectedimageversusthe

actualrealityinrelationtouncensoredcollaborativedrawingprojects,mademecurious

tobetterunderstandhowothersmaybedisconnectedfromthenaturalenvironment,

living in cities, and experiencing anxiety. This insight directly led to my workshop

proposaltoTheBigAnxietyFestival,discussedinChapterFour.Insteadofmyintialidea

of an open collaborative drawing project, I addressed my concerns in a reframed

question - what if I workedwith individuals who suffer from anxiety, and used the

powerfultoolsofdrawing,natureandbeautytoenhanceunderstandingandcreatea

senseofasupportivesocietyandcaringcommunity?

IndependentofhisMoon collaborationwithEliasson,AiWeiweihasalso individually

usedtrees,andmultiplesofplantseedsandflowersinhiswork,mostrecentlyin2013-

2015 in an installation in abicyclebasketoutsidehisBeijing studio.He changed the

flowers each day in protest against the Chinese government’s withholding of his

passport.ThedailyphotographswereuploadedintoFlickr,andtheprojectwastitled

WithFlowers.119Weiweicommentedthat“Flowersarethemostcommonlanguage.For

onething,theyareaboutlife.120Hisinstallationseemedtoalsoreferenceadarktimein

118SophieBabeanuandSandrinePelissier,“Participate”page,TheBigPictureArtProject,lastmodified2017,https://thebigpictureartproject.com/how-to-participate/119KristonCapps,“AiWeiwei’s600DaysofFlowers,”TheAtlantic,July22,2015https://www.theatlantic.com/entertainment/archive/2015/07/ai-weiwei-with-flowers/399275/120AiWeiwei,quotedin“AiWeiwei’sFloralBikeProtest,”Phaidon,January3,2014,http://au.phaidon.com/agenda/art/articles/2014/january/03/ai-weiweis-floral-bike-protest/

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Chinese history when Mao Zedong encouraged commentary about the Chinese

Government, saying “The policy of letting a hundred flowers bloom and a hundred

schoolsofthoughtcontendisdesignedtopromotetheflourishingoftheartsandthe

progressofscience.”121

Many who participated in the Hundred Flowers movement were punished and

subsequently imprisoned. The words of the original poem have been adopted,

repurposedandadaptedsince1956,byvariousartists,andhavecometoalsorepresent

the ideaofopenness inacommunity todifferent ideasandalternativeperspectives.

Weiwei’s 2014 ceramic installationworkBlossom has also been associatedwith the

HundredFlowerstheme,andafurtherinterpretationoftheporcelainflowerssuggest

theirsymbolicuseasaformofcomfortandsympathyforthepreviousprisonersofthe

cellsinAlcatrazPrisonwheretheartworkwasinstalled.122BlossomisshowninFigures

23and24,andaswithmanyofhisotherworks,itusesmultiplesofathematicimage.I

alsoobservedthatheisreductiveinhisapproach–thelackofcolourintheflowerslends

acalmandmindfulsensibilitytotheBlossomwork.

Figure23.AiWeiwei,Blossom,detail,2014,ceramic,sizesofinstallationcomponentsvarious.

121HundredFlowersDefinition,OxfordLivingDictionaries,lastmodified2017,https://en.oxforddictionaries.com/definition/hundred_flowersandGilbertKing,“TheSilencethatPrecededChina’sGreatLeapintoFamine,”SmithsonianMagazine,lastmodifiedSeptember26,2012,http://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/the-silence-that-preceded-chinas-great-leap-into-famine-51898077/122 For-Site Foundation:ArtAbout Place, “@Large:AiWeiwei onAlcatraz: Blossom,”photo credit JanSturmann,lastmodified2016,https://www.for-site.org/project/ai-weiwei-alcatraz-blossom/

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Figure24.AiWeiwei,Blossom,2014,ceramic,sizesofinstallationcomponentsvarious.

I have frequently worked within series, using multiples and repeated images, and

exploringAiWeiwei’sinterestin,andremarkablebodyofworkrelatingtonatureand

theenvironmentwasinspiring.Lookingathisworkingreaterdepthactedasanantidote

tothedisappointmentofmanyofthedrawingsshowninMoon.Overaperiodofyears

Weiweihasalsoproducedmorethanfifteenlargescalesculpturesinanongoingseries

titled Tree, which use multiple sections and parts of different species of trees

recombinedtogether.TheTree,Moon,WithFlowersandBlossomsprojectsallfeature

plants in someway,andbringdifferentenvironmentalandculturalperspectivesand

messages to audiences, incorporating various methods of execution and

communication,andthiscanbecomparedtotheearlierWrappedGlobe,byChristo,and

more recent Pisonia with Acidification Graph, by Watson. Weiwei, from my

observations,utilisesmanydifferentwaysofgeneratingdialoguethroughhisworks,and

he isnotrestrictedbymediumormethod.Heactivelyusessocialmediaasatool to

communicatehisartworkmorebroadly,andthisaspectmademetakeamuchmore

activeapproachtopromotingtheoutcomesofmyownwork,asdiscussedinChapter

Four.

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Theuseofplantbasedart imagesbeingapplied innon-traditionalways, includingas

illustrationsonclimatechangearticles,asdesigneddiagrams,andinfilms,canhelpto

tellaninter-relatedstory.Whilesomemightsuggestthattheirrecontextualisationand

useacrossdifferentplatformsdiminishes theiruniqueartisticperspective, this thesis

arguesagainstthatview.Artcananddoesengageanaudiencewithoutneedingtohave

aprescriptivemessage,buttheworkofartists involvedwithenvironmentalconcerns

usinganEcoArtethos,frequentlyblendswithothervisualcommunicationtechniques

toproducea combinedTransmediaArt approach, aswehave seen in severalof the

worksdescribedinthischapter.Thisleadsustoconsiderhowwecanconsciouslyand

deliberately integrateablendofEcoArtandTransmediaArtwith theneed tomore

activelymotivateaudiencestoconnectwithclimatechange.

Looking back at Chapter Two, examining the history of individual images that have

previouslyinfluencedsocialchangerelatingtoecologyandtheenvironment,helpedto

establishacontextandfoundationofunderstandingformycurrentresearch.Lookingat

someofthedifferentwaysscientificillustrationhasbeenrepurposedandappropriated

byotherartists,assistedininformingtheideasIdeveloped,particularlyinthefinalyear

of my research. Learning more about Transmedia principles also assisted in the

conceptual development of two short films in 2017, where I actively considered

adaptationandextensioninmydrawingsandcreativepractice.Exploringtheoutputof

artistswhoworkwithinanEcoArtethosalsohelpedmetoseewhatIdid,anddidnot,

want todo,and tomoreclearly seewhy.Finally, Ibecamesure thatmypassion for

drawingwasunabated,as I lookedonthebeautifulandarrestingworksofWolseley,

Watson,Hesse-Honegger,Landy,IkedaandBuckland.Theyprovokeourattention,but

withapeacefulmindfulnessnotfoundinMoonorinsomephotographicdocumentary

imagesofthedevastatingimpactsofclimatechangeandglobalwarming.

Iwas attracted by their subtle renderings of natural images, and inspired to further

extendmyownmarkmakingabilities,butinadifferentwaythanIhadinpreviouswork.

ChapterThree furtherexplores the relationshipbetweenmindfulnessandbeauty, to

facilitateatransitioninthemindsetsofaudiences,throughthecreationofartworkthat

attractsinsteadofdissuadesfurtherengagement.

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CHAPTERTHREE:MindfulnessandBeauty

Work is self-expression.Wemustnot thinkof self-expressionas somethingwemaydoorsomethingwemaynotdo.Self-expressionisinevitable.Inyourwork,in theway that you do yourwork and in the result of yourwork, your self isexpressed.Behindandbeforeself-expressionisadevelopingawarenessIwillalsocall“thework.”Itisthemostimportantpartofthework.Thereistheworkinourminds,theworkinourhands,andtheworkasaresult.123

ThePrefaceandIntroductiondescribedtheimpetusandrationalebehindthebodyof

creativework,anditsselectedpracticebasedmethodology.Thisincludedanoverview

ofplants,andstatisticsontheirendangeredandatriskstatus,relatedtotheresearch

themes.ChapterOneoffereda furthercontext formyresearchbyanalysingselected

aspectsofclimatechangeandexploringitsrelationshipwithendangeredplantsandart,

integrated within an initial Literature Review. This included some recent exhibitions

relatingtoclimatechange,anddiscussedseveralcritical factorswhichcanpotentially

influencepeople’sdisengagement.

ChapterTwoexploredtheworkofselectedartistsworkingwithclimatechangethemes,

with a specific focus onplants, drawings, and somehanddrawnmoving images.My

rationaleforchoosingtheseartistswasinparttoexploreandexaminecontemporary

drawingworksthroughaproposed,overlappinglensofEcoArtandTransmediaArt,and

to begin to consider how they canpotentially integrate someaspects of beauty in a

mindful way. The artwork of Wolseley, Watson, Hesse-Honegger, Landy, Ikeda and

Bucklandisnotableinthisrespect.InthewordsofAgnesMartin,eachoftheseartists

demonstrates an awareness of self-expression in their work, combined with their

concernsaboutthenaturalenvironment.

Followingthecontextualisationofmypracticebyconsideringclimatechangeliterature

andartist’spractices,ChapterThreediscussesrelevantrecentresearchintomindsight,

mindfulness and emotional resonance, and explores the relationship of beauty in

enhancing these meditative types of mindsets.124 The process I experienced in

123AgnesMartin,lectureattheopeningoftheexhibition“AgnesMartin,”InstituteofContemporaryArt,UniversityofPennsylvania,February14,1973,republishedbyAnneFlourney,inAgnesMartin’sNotes,http://anneflournoy.com/agnes-martins-notes/124 Christopher K.Germer, “Mindfulness,” inMindfulness and Psychotherapy (NewYork: TheGuilfordPress,2013),5.Germerstates“ThetermmindfulnessisanEnglishtranslationofthePaliwordsati.PaliwasthelanguageofBuddhistpsychology,2,500yearsago,andmindfulnessisthecoreteachingofthis

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researching and subsequently combining these aspects alludes to the final line of

Martin’sobservation,whereshemakesreferencetotheneedtocombinetheworkof

themindwiththeworkofthehands.ThisrelatestothechallengesIexperiencedinmy

researchinaligningmythinkingwithmymaking.

ThisChapterconsidersalternativemodes(notmodels)ofthinkingtotheprocessesIhad

usedpriortothePhDresearch,andinvestigatessometheoriesfromotherdisciplines

whichIfoundapplicabletointegrateintomyresearchframework.Thiswasdrivenbythe

perceivedneedtocreateimageswhichcouldprovideanantidoteandrespitefromthe

ecoanxietygeneratedbysteadilyworseningclimatechangestatistics.Thehopeisthat

throughmyartworkIcanestablishastrongerresponseto,andresonancefornature,

andthatviewer’sattentionandengagementmightbeframedinmoreaction-orientated

waysasaresult.

The Introductionto this thesisdiscussedstudieswhichhavemeasured,assessedand

provedthebenefitsofimagesofnatureinrelationtobiophilia,andwhichhaveexplored

thenegativeecopsychologyof the impactof fearonpeople’s avoidant responses to

climatechange.ThisdiscussionwasextendedinChapterOne.Recentresearchfurther

supportstheseviews;anarticle intheJournalofEnvironmentalPsychologyobserved

that “If climate change is too psychologically close…it is likely to be associatedwith

intenseemotionalreactions,whichhavethepotentialtoprovokeavoidance…”125The

authors go on to say that there is a “…need to avoid provoking fear and resulting

avoidantemotionalreactions.”126

Artist and academic Professor Lesley Duxbury concurs with this view. She describes

some climate scientists who believe that an important factor influencing decision

making is the tendency for overtly ‘catastrophic’ climate change communication to

reducepeople’sability to feel.Shegoesontoassert that“…ifartcanevokefeelings

tradition. Sati connotes awareness, attention, and remembering.” (Germer’s italics and emphasis.)Mindfulness is,however,notalwaysassociatedwithZen/Buddhistprinciples– Ihave readbooksbyPemaChodron, JonKabat-Zinn,RubyWaxandMarkWilliams,whose focus is the conceptof secular,mindfulnessbasedstressreduction.Itisthisnon-religiousandappliedperspectivethatisadvocatedandactivelyappliedwithinthisthesis,andwhichIhaveusedformanyyearsaspartofmyyogapractice.125RachelMcDonald,HuiYiChai,BenNewell,”Personalexperienceandthe'psychologicaldistance'ofclimatechange:Anintegrativereview,”JournalofEnvironmentalPsychology,44(2015):115.126Ibid.,116.

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aboutourworldthenwecanpossiblybemotivatedtomakenecessarychangesinour

livestopreserveit.”127

Significant inthisregard isthe importantbookbyGeorgeMarshall,Don’tEvenThink

AboutIt:WhyOurBrainsareWiredtoIgnoreClimateChange.InChapterTen,TheTwo

Brains, Marshall introduces a key idea that, “…we apply to climate change the

psychologicaltoolswehaveevolvedtocopewithpreviouschallenges,andthatthese

may turn out to be inappropriate for this new threat.”128 This echoes the earlier

assertionsofbothNaomiKleinandProfessorDanielGilbertdescribedinChapterOne.

Marshallgoesontosaythat“…ouravoidanceofthe issueofclimatechangemaybe

drivenbystill-deepermechanismsevolvedtocopewithourfearsofdeath.”129

Moreimportantthanthis,however,ishisbeliefthatourdecisionmakinginrelationto

climatechangeisimpairedbythetwopredominant,distinct,waysthatthehumanbrain

processes information. Marshall comments, “One is analytical, logical, and encodes

reality in abstract symbols, words, and numbers. The other is driven by emotions

(especially fearandanxiety), images, intuition,andexperience.Languageoperates in

both processes, but in the analytic system, it is used to describe and define; in the

emotional system, it is used to communicate meaning, especially in the form of

stories.”130Thedividebetweenourrationalmindsandouremotionalresponsesappears

tobeafactorthatinhibitsusfromrespondingfullytotherealthreatsofclimatechange.

AsMarshallconcludes,“TheviewheldbyeveryspecialistIspoketoisthatwehavestill

notfoundawaytoeffectivelyengageouremotionalbrainsinclimatechange.”131This

suggests that care could be taken in the creation of artwork which uses nature, to

considerelicitingemotionalresponsesassociatedwithagency,andnotprovokingfear,

anxiety,depressionanddisengagement.

127 Lesley Duxbury, “Breath-taking: Creating artistic visualisations of atmospheric conditions to evokeresponsestoclimatechange,”Local-Global,MediaAssetManagementSystem,RMIT,lastmodifieddateunrecorded,dateofaccess1July2017:38.http://mams.rmit.edu.au/935hrt45xgu7z.pdf128GeorgeMarshall,Don’tEvenThinkAboutIt:WhyOurBrainsareWiredtoIgnoreClimateChange(NewYork:BloomsburyPubPLC,2014),48.129Ibid.,48.130Ibid.,48.131Ibid.,50.

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IntheearlystagesofmyresearchIexploredtheapplicationofnewmodelsofthinking,

and I attempted to investigate my themes and ideas using a rational and logical

approach.Thislednotonlytomoreobviousandinitiallysafecreativeoutcomes,aswill

be discussed in Chapter Four, but also to a sense of personal frustration, that my

researchwasnotevolvinginamorechallengingandlesspredictableway.Irecognised

thatinthefirstyearofmystudiesIhadbecomeconstrainedbytryingtofigureoutthe

‘rightanswer’and to systematicallyapplya setprocess to takeme toacomfortable

conclusion.IwasinhibitedbyadualapproachwhereIontheonehandtriedtobring

logicalandrationalthinkingintomythesisresearchandwriting,whileconcurrentlyon

the other hand I more intuitively explored plants, nature and beauty in my studio.

MidwaythroughmyPhDIreadtwobookswhichcounteredthis initialapproach,and

which further illuminated the importance of extendingmy theoretical research in a

differentdisciplinarydirection, inorder to findadeeperemotional resonance in the

artworkIwascreating.Boththesebooksclearlydemonstratedtometheimportanceof

amoreholisticintegrationandcombinationofbothrationalandemotionalmindsets,to

transition my work less predictably, and to explore alternative methods and new

creativepractices.

ThefirstofthesewasMindsight,writtenbyDrDanielSiegelandpublishedin2015.This

bookwasnotaboutart,climatechangeortheAnthropocene,andyetitseemedtohave

everythingtodowiththem.IwasabletofilterandapplytheinsightsSiegeldescribed,

toultimatelymaptheinformationontomyownlivedexperiences,andtounderstand

more clearly the focus ofmy research, andwhy I cared somuch about the natural

environment.132

Ratherthanarationalistapproach,bythetimeIhadfinishedreadingthebook,Irealised

thatIneededtoapplyempiricalobservations–tothinkless,andtofeelmore.Inthe

132Asachild,IfirstwenttoschoolinGuyana,SouthAmericaandthenBaghdad,Iraq,beforereturningtoliveinScotland.Wedidnothaveatelevision,andtravelledextensively.Myhighschoolyearswerespentliving1000feetupamountainbesideLochNess,inarenovatedcrofthousemilesfromthenearesttown.Idevelopedanembeddedpassionfornatureasaresultofthesechildhoodexperiences,andanaversionfor the accumulationof possessions.Not owning amobile phone is a conscious choice, andmy livedexperienceshavedemonstratedanongoingneedfornatureasasourceofrespiteandpeace.ReadingSiegel’sMindsightbookhelpedmetoclarifymyowndrive tosharehow I feelaboutplants,andhownature,combinedwithart,couldpotentiallybeusedasanantidotetoecoanxiety.

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firstyearofmyresearchIwasguidedbytheideathat,“Therealroleisnotaboutusing

artiststoleverageourmessageuptheagenda,butfortheartisttomakethisagenda

theirown. It is important theymaintain their authenticity.”133As a result of further,

morediverse,anddeeperreading,Irealisedthatmylifelongpassionformeditationand

mindfulnesswasnotasidestorytomyresearch,butwasatthecoreofmyjourneyas

an artist, and that perhaps it always had been, in a way I had failed to previously

recognise.IneededtomoreauthenticallyarticulatewhatIwantedmyworktobecome,

andtomoreclearlysaywhy itneededtotransition intoanalternative,freerformof

expression.

The second bookwas byDr Lisa FeldmanBarrett, published in 2017 and titledHow

EmotionsareMade:TheSecretLifeoftheBrain.Thisechoedmanyofthepointsmade

byMarshallinDon’tEvenThinkAboutIt,andfurtherextendedtheinsightsIhadgleaned

fromreadingandpersonallyapplyingtheknowledgefromSiegel’sMindsightinregards

toemotional integration.The relevanceandadditionalapplicationof the research in

Barrett’sbookhelpedme tohaveconfidence in thenewdirectionmy research took

halfway throughmy studies. I felt relieved after reading it, as my own anxiety had

escalated,andIwasfeelingactivelydepressedbytheextensivereadingIhadpreviously

undertakenonclimatechange.Thiswasalsoworsenedbylookingatmanyimagesof

climate change art. The interdisciplinary connections between these two aspects

suddenlystartedtomakesensetomeinmypracticebasedwork.

InMindsightSiegelproposedanalternativemodeofthinkinghecalledTheTripodof

Reflection:Openness,Observation,andObjectivity,andthisresonatedstronglywithme

as I worked through the impasse I had reached in my studio work.134 In applying

Openness, Ineededtobereceptiveandbecomemoreawareofthepotentialformy

worktobedifferent,andto letgoofpreconceptionsabouthowmyworkshouldbe,

basedonmyownhistoryandacademiccareer.Opennesscanhelpus to releaseour

minds from restrictive approaches and to sense things more clearly, rather than

followingapre-setfamiliarprocess.Furtherreflectiononthis,andtheideaofmastery

133CharlieKronick,SeniorClimateChangeAdviser,Greenpeace,citedinMadeleineBunting,“TheRiseofClimate-ChangeArt,”TheGuardian,December3,2009,https://www.theguardian.com/artanddesign/2009/dec/02/climate-change-art-earth-rethink134DanielSiegel,Mindsight(Brunswick,Victoria:ScribePublications,2015),31.

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versusoriginality,firstdiscussedintheIntroduction,camefromthisinsight.Openness

wasobliquelyreferencedbyLynnGamwell,inher2002bookExploringtheInvisible:Art,

ScienceandtheSpiritualwhenshesaidthat“Knowledgecanbeattainedonlybyaninner

journey–avianegativa–inwhichtheseekercleansesthemindofallpreconceptions.

Only then will the sacred truth of nature reveal itself. Today the creative artist or

scientistadoptsthisattitudeinordertoseethenaturalworldafreshbyapproachingit

withoutpreconceivedideas.”135

Combinedwith Openness, the second aspect of reflectionwas anObservation that

stoppingmyownhabitualwaysofthinkingandworking,andinsteadallowingforamore

emotionallyresonantapproach,wouldfreemefromcreativeinhibitors.Iobservedhow

Ihadpreviouslyworked,and Iput these insights intoa larger frameof reference to

extendmyperspectiveandintegratebiophiliaandbeauty.Bysensingmyownhabitual

patterns, I could becomemore conscious of my own self-awareness, and bring my

feelingsofecoanxietyintonewknowledgeandwork,alteringmyartisticoutput.There

wasthephysicalcontentofmyartworkmadebymyhands,andthementalprocessesI

usedtothinkaboutthecontent–theworkofmyhands,andtheworkofmymind,to

producetheworkasaresult.

The third aspect of Siegel’s tripod of reflection was Objectivity, and it related to

developingdiscernment,theskillofmeta-awareness.Inordertobeobjective,Ineeded

tobemindfulthathowIfeltaboutendangeredplants,andthatwhatIexpressedinmy

artworkabouthowIfeltmaynotbemirroredbyothers.Thiswasbroughthometome

bysurveyingthedrawingsinMoonwhichwerediscussedinChapterTwo–therewasa

disconnectbetweentheoverarchinglypositivecollectiveimageofhumanityprojected

bythewebsite,andtherealityofthedisappointinganddisturbingthingsmanypeople

chosetocreateanduploadintheirdrawings.Further,insurveyingmanyexhibitions,I

found that some of the art included in them seemed to discourage people’s

engagement,eitherbyconfusingvisualmessagesandoddcombinationsofthemes,(as

notedinChapterOne),orbyprovokingfear.

135LynnGamwell,ExploringtheInvisible:Art,ScienceandtheSpiritual(PrincetonNJ:PrincetonUniversityPress,2002),291.Gamwellgoesontocomment,“Searchersonsuchajourneyretaintheirbasicvocabularies…buttheyleavetheirconceptualframeworksbehind.”291.

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In an interesting recent 2016 publication, Screen Ecologies: Art, Media, and the

Environment in the Asia-Pacific Region, the authors noted that they had needed a

methodologythataccommodatedthetrajectoriesofseveraldifferentthemes,andthey

proposed“…anapproachtotheworldthatsituatesart,media,andclimatechange–

andourselvesashumans–aspartoftheenvironmentsthatweinhabit.Thisapproach

views what is happening around us from the inside and explores the relationships

betweenthe thingsandprocesses thatconstitute theworld.”136Thiscorrelatedwith

somethingthatIteachmystudentsatUNSW,thatitisnotjustthecontentoftheirwork

theymustconsider,butalsotheprocessestheyconsciouslyselectanduse inmaking

theirworkinartanddesign.Thecontentofmyownworkwasstronglyinfluencedby

the recognition of the processes happening inside me, and the relationship of that

knowledgetomyownfeelingsoffearandanxiety.

AlthoughSiegeldoesnotshowtheTripodofReflectionvisually,Ifeltthatrepresenting

itasIhavedesigneditinFigure25,showsitsinterrelationshipsinamorememorable

way,asaconceptualmap. Iusedtheprinciples Isummarisedanddemonstrated ina

bookchapterIresearched,wroteandillustrated,whichwaspublishedduringtheperiod

ofresearch.137MyinitialPhDproposalwastodesignmodelsofthinkingincombination

withTransmediaStorytelling,inordertoconceptuallyblendclimatechangeknowledge

withmyartwork,andwhilethisfocuschangedsignificantlyasmyresearchprogressed,

mypublishedwritingfromthefirstyeardidultimatelyhelpmetotransitionmydrawings

inanalternativeway,inthefinalyearofmyresearch,andthisisdiscussedinChapter

Four.Figure25alsoputsintoplaythestatisticofvisualmemory,whichwasdiscussedin

ChapterTwo,where,assuggestedbyDrJohnMedinainBrainRules, itwasseenthat

usingvisualimagesimprovesretentionofinformationbyanaverageof65%.Figure25

uses threeevenlyweightedcircles,eachofwhichshowasubtlydifferent imageofa

Ginkgo Biloba leaf (which sometimes symbolises resilience). The arrows flow

interchangeablybackandforth,demonstratingtheinterplaybetweenthethreeaspects.

136LarissaHjorth,SarahPink,KristenSharp,andLindaWilliams,ScreenEcologies:Art,Media,andtheEnvironmentintheAsia-PacificRegion,(Cambridge,Massachusetts:TheMITPress,2016),21.137EmmaRobertson,“ModelsofCreativeThinkingandProblemSolving:DesignDevelopment,ApplicationandUse,”inMovingfromNovicetoExpertontheRoadtoExpertise:DevelopingExpertiseintheVisualDomain,ed.ArianneRourkeandVaughanRees,(Illinois:CommonGroundPublishingLLC,2015),162-163.

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Figure 25. Emma Robertson,Model of the Tripod of Reflection, designed to illustrate the principlesdiscussedinthe2015bookMindsightbyDrDanielSiegel,imagedesigned2016.

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Thistransitioninmyartwork,whichledfromanxietytoachangedartisticprocess,was

important,asitallowedmycontenttofinallyprogressinparallelwithmyresearchand

writing.OnceImadethisconnection,Icontinuedtofindcorrelationsandfurtherstudies

linking looking at positive images of nature, and enhanced human well-being and

improvedmental health. Negative images are just asmemorable however, and this

insightilluminatedmyconcernsaboutsomeEcoArt.Ihadadirectpersonalexperience

ofhowimportantthatwas–ImovedfromfeelingthatIcouldnotcopewithreadingone

moreclimatechangearticleorstatistic,torealisingthatimmersingmyselfinthebeauty

of nature brought feelings of calm and control, and an important and vital sense of

reengagementinmypassionfortheendangeredstatusofplants.Midwaythroughmy

research,athree-weektripcampingintheSimpsonDesertin2016,awayfromallmedia,

reinforcedthisknowledge.Thedesertwasinfullbloomafterunexpected,heavyrain,

and the landscape of vivid plants and flowers, along withmy understanding of the

importance of openness, observation and objectivity gleaned from Siegel’s book,

restoredmyenergyandenthusiasm.

InSiegel’swords“…theessenceofreflection,whichiscentraltomindsight,isthatwe

remainopen,observant,andobjectiveaboutwhatisgoingonbothinsideusandinside

others.”138ThiswasanimportantfactorthatIhadoverlooked,thatinsideothersthere

maybeamixofcomplexemotions,includingfear,aversionandanxietyinresponding

toclimatechange.AfterreadingMindsight,insteadofthinkingaboutmyartworkasa

me-to-them communication, it resonated more emotionally to consider what “we”

mightcollectivelyfeel.AnotherwayofexpressingitistosaythatIfeelImovedfroma

solofocustoadualfocus.ThisledmetorealisethatIwasnotaloneinmyfeelingsof

depression and desperation about the ‘state-of-the-world.’ I began to investigate

anxietyinthebroadercommunityregardingclimatechange,andtoexploreemerging

researchintotheapplieduseofnatureasaproposedantidotetothatanxiety.

Beingapartofnatureprovidesuswithameasurablesourceofindividualcalm,andit

canenhanceadeeperconnectionbetweenusasaspecies.Correlationshavebeenfound

betweenhumanhealthandexperiencesofnature.139Insomecultures,beingapartof,

138DanielSiegel,Mindsight,(Brunswick,Victoria:ScribePublications,2015),32.139AlexandraSifferlin,“TheHealingPowerofNature,”TimeMagazine,IssueJuly25(2016):24-26.

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notseparatetonaturealsohasalongandintegratedhumanhistory.140Thisalignswith

asectiontitledHopeintherecentArtasTherapybookwhichstated“…itisbecausethe

troublesoftheworldaresocontinuallybroughttoourattentionthatweneedtoolsthat

can preserve our hopeful dispositions.”141 Commenting on the history of landscape

works,theauthorsaddedthat“…artthatpaysagreatdealofattentiontothenatural

worldwouldbeprizedonlywhentherewassomespecialneedforit.‘Asnaturebegins

graduallytovanishfromhumanlifeasadirectexperience,soweseeitemergeinthe

worldofthepoetasanidea.’Aslifebecomesmorecomplexandartificial,aslifeislived

moreindoors,thelongingforacompensatingnaturalsimplicitygetsstronger.”142

Siegelexploredtheimportanceofintegrationtoourabilitytomakesenseofourlives.

Ashedescribedit,“…whenweintegratethoseembeddedexperiencesintoourpresent

consciousness and recognise them as implicit memories – not valid intuitions or

reasoneddecisions–thenwebegintoofferourselvesthemeanstobecomeawakened

and active authors of our own life story.”143 The experience of researching climate

change,andlookingatsomeoftheEcoArtproducedinresponsetoglobalwarming,left

mewithaconfusedandunclearsenseofhowmyworkmightfit intosomethingthat

mademefeelincreasinglyanxious.WhenIbroughtbroaderreadinginecopsychology

andecoanxiety intothemix, thingsstartedtomakesense,andalternativeandmore

authentic,lesssuperficialideasbegantoflow.Siegelcommentedthat“Makingsenseis

asourceofstrengthandresilience…essentialtoourwell-beingandhappiness.”144

Aspreviouslynoted,threeinterrelatedaspectsofopenness,observation,andobjectivity

aredescribed,andthesearevariouslydiscussedacrossseveralchaptersinSiegel’sbook,

in relation to insight, intuition and integration. This helpedme to see thatmy own

insightsandmeta-awareness(orawarenessofmyownawareness)werecrucialtothe

creative progression ofmy research. By constructively critiquingmy past artworks I

becamemoreawareofthepotentialfornewideastoemerge.LaterinthebookSiegel

140InJapan,theprinciplesofhumanconnectionwithnaturearerepresentinIkebanaflowerarranging,andinforest-bathing,Shinrin-yoku,bothofwhichhavealongculturalhistory.KaresansuirockgardensinJapanfacilitatemeditationandareoftenfoundinmonasteries.InChina,thecollectionofnaturalScholar’sStonesalsofocussesontheirnaturalbeautyandcalmingasymmetricalbalance.141AlaindeBottonandJohnArmstrong,ArtasTherapy(London:PhaidonPress,2016),13.142Ibid.,30-31.143DanielSiegel,Mindsight,(Brunswick,Victoria:ScribePublications,2015),65.144Ibid.,172-173.

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posed a series of pertinent questions, and reading them and considering my own

responses,progressedmyunderstandingofthebroadercontextmyartworkneededto

activelyconsiderandexistwithin:“Whatcanwedo?Ourspeciesadapts,learnstomake

do,toliveinmegacitiesofmillions,bombardedbyinformationfromaroundtheplanet.

Butmanyofus find thatweeithernumbourselves to copeorwebecomepainfully

awareofthefragilityofourcondition.”145

The more I researched and read about ecopsychology and ecoanxiety, the more I

realisedthatmyownneedforbiophiliaandbeautymightbearesponsefeltbyothers,

who shared my concerns about climate change, and who might also experience

overwhelmingresponsestoovertlydistressing,unforgettableimagesandprogressively

worsening news. Siegel continued, “Howdowe find peace ofmind?Where are the

spaces,thementalsanctuaries,wherecanweputourheadsdownonapillow,certain

ofourpersonaandcollectivesurvival?Thelongingforsimplicityandshelterstillstirsin

our synaptic circuitry.”146 This helped me to realise why my attempts to integrate

diagramsofdiminishingice,risingsealevels,andglobaltemperaturesintomydrawings

hadaffectedmyownpeaceofmind,andhadbeenfraughtwithdissatisfaction,difficulty

anddistress.AsSuziGablikwroteinTheRe-enchantmentofArt,“Negativeimageshave

awayofcomingalivejustaspositiveimageshave.Ifweprojectimagesofbeauty,hope,

healing, courage, survival, cooperation, interrelatedness, serenity, imagination and

harmony,thiswillhaveapositiveeffect.”147

ItwasaroundthistimethatIcameacrossaquotewhicheloquentlysummarisedthe

innertoouter,metous,shiftIwasexperiencing.TheAmericanphilosopherSusanne

Langerwrote about the connections of art, aesthetics and the humanmind, and in

reviewingherbook,ProblemsofArt,MariaPopovasaidthat:

Art isanactoftranslation– inner intoouter intoinner,artisttoaudience,partRilkeandpartSontag.Ittranslatestheinnumerabledialectsinwhichweeachcryfor connection into a universal language of belonging. Great art, therefore,requiresadualcontemplation–itaskstheartisttocontemplateherinteriorlifeandgiveshapetowhatshefindsthereinabstractform;itaskstheaudienceto

145Ibid.,240.146Ibid.,240.147SuziGablik,TheRe-enchantmentofArt,(London&NewYork:Thames&Hudson,1995),155.

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contemplatetheabstractionandgleanfromittranscendentresonancewithourowninteriorlife,engaginginwhatJeanetteWintersonsomemorablycalled‘theparadoxofactivesurrender”andenlargingourselvesintheactofcontemplation.Intheprocessofthattwo-waytranslation,arttransformsus.148

Theuseofthewordtranslationinthisquoteseemedapt,andfurtheredtheideasof

Siegel’sintegrationsofinsightandintuition.Istartedtothinkaboutthetranslationof

onethingtoanother,andfromartisttoartworktoaudience,asaformoftransitionin

mywork,andamendedthetitleofthethesisasaresult.Relatedtothis,inMindsight,

Siegel defined interpersonal neurobiology as a field which “examines the parallel

findings from independentdisciplines touncover their commonprinciples.”149 Siegel

goesontoacknowledgethe1998bookbyProfessorEdwardO.Wilson,Consilience–the

UnityofKnowledge,andheparaphrasedWilson’sview,that“consilienceenablesusto

pushtheboundariesofourknowledgeforwardbymovingbeyondtheusualconstraints

ofacademic fields’often isolatedattempts todescribe reality.”150Thishelpedme to

establish important and relevant interconnections between Wilson’s research and

writingonnature,biophiliaandconsilience,andSiegel’sdescriptionsofmindsight.151

Siegelwentontosaythat“Interpersonalneurobiologyisaconsilientviewthatattempts

tofindtheseparalleldiscoveriesacrossnumerouswaysofknowing–fromscience,the

arts,andcontemplativeandspiritualpractice…thisfieldisanopenforumforallwaysof

knowingtocollaborateindeepeningandexpandingourwayofunderstandingreality,

thehumanmind,andwell-being.”152

ProfessorofPsychology, LisaFeldmanBarrett sharedandextendedanumberof the

perspectives articulatedby Siegel, andher 2017bookHowEmotionsAreMade: The

Secret Life of theBrain helpedme to synthesise and further reframemydeveloping

148MariaPopova,“TrailblazingPhilosopherSusanneLangeronthePurposeofArt,HowItWorksUsOver,and How Abstract Thinking Gives Shape to Human Emotion,” Brain Pickings, October 28, 2016,https://www.brainpickings.org/2016/10/28/susanne-langer-problems-of-art/149DanielSiegel,Mindsight,(Brunswick,Victoria:ScribePublications,2015),279.150Ibid.,279.151IntheIntroductiontothisthesisonpage11,theaffinityofhumanbeingswiththenaturalworldwasnoted, as defined and popularised in the book by Professor Edward O.Wilson,Biophilia (CambridgeMassachusetts:HarvardUniversityPress,1984).152 This alsobuildson the collaborativeapproachesdescribedbyDr LisaRoberts inChapterOne.TheconceptofconsilienceasaunityofknowledgewaspopularisedbyhumanistbiologistEdwardO.Wilson,andhestrovetocrosstheculturaldividethatexistedbetweenthehumanitiesandsciencesinthebookEdward O. Wilson, Consilience: The Unity of Knowledge, (New York: Alfred A. Knopf, Inc., 1998) asdescribedinDanielSiegel,Mindsight,(Brunswick,Victoria:ScribePublications,2015),279.

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insightsinrelationtomyartpractice.Earlyinherbookshedescribedtwofailedattempts

atfindingobjective‘fingerprintsofemotion’inthebodyandface.Shecommented“But

as they say,whenadoor closes, sometimesawindowopens.”153Reading this, I felt

encouragedthatmyownfalsestarthadledtoanotheropening,andultimatelytoamore

authentic and personally challenging series of final works. It would require another

thesistounpackthemyriadwaysBarrett’sbookinfluencedmyownchangingcreative

approach,butseveralpertinentkeypointshavebeenselectedforbriefdiscussionhere.

The first is her theory of constructed emotion, which incorporates three distinct

elements.AsdescribedbyFeldmanBarrett,“Fromsocialconstruction,itacknowledges

theimportanceofcultureandconcepts.Frompsychologicalconstruction,itconsiders

emotions to be constructed by core systems in the brain and body. And from

neuroconstruction,itadoptstheideathatexperiencewiresthebrain.”154Shethengoes

ontodetailhoweachofthesethreeelementsinterconnecttogeneratetheemotional

response of fear. I was fascinated by her analysis, and by the framing of the three

elements relating to social, psychological and neuroconstruction research. Our

emotionalresponsestothreatssuchasclimatechangearenotjustbuiltfromaninborn

predispositiontofeartheimpactofathreat;ourbrainsalsopiecetogetherourfeelings,

andwecanpositively–ornegatively–impacton,andtheninfluence,thisemotional

processthroughtheuseofartandassociatedexperientialevents.

Instead of doom-and-gloom images of the end of the world, consciously creating

environmentsto interactwithoneanother,andto facilitatemorepositiveresponses

seems to be crucial.155 Feldman Barrett further introduces the idea of interoceptive

sensation,whereshesuggeststhroughherexperimentsthatwedon’thavetohavea

directexperienceofsomethinginordertofeelastrong,negativeemotionalresponseto

it. Ifwe just imagine something,even in theabsenceofan image, that isenough to

perturb our “body balance” and detrimentally impact our heart rates, and body

chemistry.Ourbrainsimaginescenariosconstantly,and,“Asitturnsout,peoplespend

153LisaFeldmanBarrett,HowEmotionsAreMade:TheSecretLifeoftheBrain,(London:Macmillan,2017),15.154Ibid.,35.155AsadirectresultofthisinsightandunderstandingIdevelopedtwoworkshopsforthepublic,whichItaughtattheRoyalBotanicGardenSydneyaspartofTheBigAnxietyFestival,seeChapterFourandAppendixA.

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at leasthalf theirwakinghours simulating rather thanpayingattention to theworld

aroundthem,andthispuresimulationstronglydrivestheirfeelings.”156Weexperience

lesspain,FeldmanBarrettcomments, ifweconsciously regulateouremotionalbody

budget,andthisalignswiththeresearchdiscussedintheIntroduction,wherelookingat

naturalimagesforaslittleasfiveminutescanhaveapositivephysiologicalimpact.

FeldmanBarretthelpedmetoquestionmyownassumptions:“Youmightthinkthatin

everydaylife,thethingsyouseeandhearinfluencewhatyoufeel,butit’smostlythe

otherwayaround:thatwhatyoufeelaltersyoursightandhearing.Interoceptioninthe

moment ismore influential to perception, andhow you act, than the outsideworld

is.”157Icannotcontroltheinteroceptionofothers,butIcanpositivelycreateimagesthat

conveythebeautyofnature,andinfluencethesocialworldwelivein.FeldmanBarrett

goesontosaythat“Wetakethingsthatexistinnatureandimposenewfunctionson

themthatgobeyondtheirphysicalproperties.Thenwetransmittheseconceptstoeach

other,wiringeachother’sbrainsforthesocialworld.Thisisthecoreofsocialreality.”158

MycritiqueofrecentclimatechangeexhibitionsinChapterOneconnectstothispoint,

and howwe transmit concepts, andwire each other’s brains for the socialworld is

deservingofcarefulconsideration,toavoidoverwhelmingotherswithasharedanxiety.

Althoughyoucannotwillyourfeelingstochangeorbedifferentinthecurrentmoment,

accordingtoFeldmanBarrett’s research“…youcantakestepsnowto influenceyour

future emotional experiences, to sculpt who you will be tomorrow...in a very real,

predicting-brainway.”159 Shegoeson toadvocate several concrete, tangibleways in

which this can be facilitated. Of particular relevance to my own research was the

suggestiontoachievepositivebenefits“simplybycultivatingandexperiencingawe,the

feelingofbeinginthepresenceofsomethingvastlygreaterthanyourself.”Icommenced

workonthelargestscaledrawingIhavecreatedtodate,assoonasIhadfinishedreading

FeldmanBarrett’sbook,andIcreditthedirectinfluenceofthesewordsonchangingthe

approach I took to resolving the composition. I was inspired by my enhanced

156LisaFeldmanBarrett,HowEmotionsAreMade:TheSecretLifeoftheBrain,(London:Macmillan,2017),71.157Ibid.,79.158Ibid.,134.159Ibid.,176.

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understandingofthehumanneedfornaturalawe,toincreasethescopeandscaleof

mydrawingsofendangeredplants.

Overall,FeldmanBarrett’sbookleftmefeelingsurethatIwantedtoprovideapositive

responseinmywork,anditgavemetheinsightthatIneededtotrytogenerateasense

ofcalmandrespite.Iflookingatasmallwatercolourpaintingoflichencouldchangehow

Ifeltaboutsteppingonthosesmallplants,thenperhapsmyownworkcouldalteror

impactonsomeoneelse’sinteroceptivesensationandbodybalance?Thatisnottosay

thatIdon’twantmyworktofeelsurprising,provokingorchallenging–morethat,“What

weexperienceas“certainty”–thefeelingofknowingwhatistrueaboutourselves,each

other,andtheworldaroundus–isanillusionthatthebrainmanufacturestohelpus

make it through each day.Giving up a bit of that certainty now and then is a good

idea.”160Movingfromasafepreviouspositionofartisticmasteryandcareersuccess,to

transition to a less predictable, more uncertain creative process, felt like the only

possiblepathtotake,asIreachedtheendoftheremarkablypertinentHowEmotions

AreMade:TheSecretLifeoftheBrain.

Inregardstotheimportanceofuncertainty,FeldmanBarrettconcludes,“It’srefreshing

toquestiontheconceptsthathavebeengiventous,andtobecuriousaboutwhichare

physicalandwhicharesocial.Thereisakindoffreedominrealizingthatwecategorize

tocreatemeaning,and therefore it ispossible tochangemeaningby recategorizing.

Uncertaintymeans that thingscanbeother than theyappear.This realizationbrings

hopeindifficulttimes…”161Brainsandbodiesconstructemotionalresponsesintandem

withoneanother,andwearethearchitectsofourownexperiencesandresponsesto

climatechange.Bringinggreaterconsciousthoughtandunderstandingtotheemotional

impactofmyartworkonothers,alignedtheworkofmyhandswiththeworkofmymind

toproducenewwork.

Integrating mindsight with openness, observation and objectivity brought me to a

clearerandmorecreativeoutcome,particularlywhenIcombinedthisknowledgewith

interoceptivesensation theory.AssuggestedbyFeldmanBarrett’s research, I canbe

160Ibid.,290.161Ibid.,292.

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negativelyimpactedbyclimatechangeevenwhenIamnotdirectlyexposedtoimages

of it, and this sets up a resistant predisposition to disengage from positive action

regardingglobalwarming.Anantidotetothatecoanxietycanbefoundinartthatutilises

beautyandawe,tore-engageourattentionandemotionsinmoreconstructiveways,

andinworksthatalsofeatureconsilience–aunificationofknowledgefromdifferent

disciplines.Synthesisingmultiplesourcesofinformationfromdifferentdisciplines,and

recombiningthem,showedmethattheevidenceconclusivelypointedinthesamenew

direction, increasing my confidence in significantly altering my creative work. By

consideringSiegelandFeldmanBarrett’sresearchinthefinalyearofmystudies,Iwas

abletobridgeagapinmyknowledge,andtoapplymyunderstandinginaconsilientway

whichinterconnectedneurosciencewithartisticpractice.

The IntroductionandChapterOneofthisthesisdescribedthenegativepsychological

impactthatviewingprovocativeclimatechangeartimagescanhave,andtheresearch

ofKleinandGilbertreinforcedthisperspective.HereinChapterThree,wehaveseen

thatinteroceptivesensationandtheknowledgeofincreasingglobalwarmingcanaffect

how we see and hear, and what we feel, even in the absence of images, causing

ecoanxiety and depression. This actively dissuades impacted individuals from an

engagementinclimatechange.Whatthen,istheantidotetothisanxiety?

An article in the International Journal of Environmental Health provided some

interestinganswers,andthetwoauthors’conclusionswerebasedonanimpressively

broadevaluationofsomefiftyrelevantempiricalstudies.TheycommentedonAttention

RestorationTheory,sayingthatitprovidesaframeworktodescribethepsychological

benefitsofnature.Theynotedthat,“Directingattentiontodemandingtasksanddealing

withdisturbingenvironmentalfactorsmayleadtomentalfatigue.Ontheotherhand,

environments that provide a possibility for more effortless attention offer an

opportunitytorestorementalcapacity.SurroundingsdominatedbyelementsofNature

are thought to be restorative.”162 Their use of the word dominant brought forth a

comparisonwithFeldmanBarrett’spreviouscommentsaboutawe,andIembeddedthis

162BjornGrindeandGreteGrindalPatil,“Biophilia:DoesVisualContactwithNatureImpactonHealthandWell-being?,”InternationalJournalofEnvironmentalResearchandPublicHealth,August31(2009):doi:http://www.mdpi.com/1660-4601/6/9/2332&https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2760412/

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ideaoflarger-than-humanscaleintothefinalFisherLibraryexhibition,ArtandNature:

AntidotestoAnxiety.

Thepaper’sauthorsprovidedalistofbenefitsderivedfromcontactwithvisualelements

of nature from their survey of fifty other studies, and these included, “reducing

stress…and…improvingattention,byhavingapositiveeffectonmentalrestoration.”163

They added that, “…nature appears to have qualities useful for stress relief,mental

restoration,andimprovedmoodsimplybybeingconsciouslyorunconsciously“pleasing

totheeye”…”164

Theauthorswrotethat“Avisualpresenceofplantsmaybeonesuchstress-reducing

factorasaffective responses tovisual stimulideemedaestheticmayrelease tension.

Beautyhasbeendefinedasvisualinputthatgivespleasuretothemind,thusaesthetics

offerperdefinitionapositiveexperience.”165Theygoontonotethat,“Atheoretical

examinationofaestheticvaluespointstowardstheimportanceofelementsreflecting

Nature;suchascomplexity,choiceofcolors,perspectiveandbalance.Inotherwords,

Nature itself may offer potent aesthetic stimuli.”166 An important source of images

which reflect the beauty and visual aesthetics of plants, can be found in art. Some

researchsuggeststhatsimplicity,notcomplexity,shouldbeintegratedinimageswhere

thereisanaimtomanifestbeauty,soIwasparticularlyinterestedthattheyarguedfor

complexityinnatureasaprinciple.Ihadbeengoingthroughaprocessofreducingthe

detailinmydrawings,whichwerepreviouslyquitedenseinmarks,andinsteadIstarted

toconsidertheintegrationofthewholeimage,whichisdiscussedinChapterFour.

Thisthesisfocusespredominantlyondrawingsofendangeredplantsasanoutcomeof

thepracticebasedresearchprocess.However,theimpactofdeliberatelyapplyingthe

persuasivepremiseofbeautyasanadditionalmethodinmycreativepracticeshouldbe

brieflynoted,whileacknowledgingthattofullyunpackandexplorebeautyasacomplex

topicwithitsownrichhistoryandmulti-layeredmeaningsisbeyondthescopeofthis

163Ibid.164Ibid.165Ibid.166Ibid.

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thesis.Keepingourfocusonbeautyinrelationtoartandnature,thewordsofauthor

andCanadianfilm-makerDanielConradresonate:

Consider again things that invoke feelings of beauty (music, poetry, painting,nature, mathematics, cosmology). They all have at least this in common: astructure(includingtextureanddetail)thatprovokesandchallengesspecificpartsofthemind:thepartsthatperceiveandinterpret,thatmakesense,thatdrawoutmeaning and pattern from initially random input, that creatively organize andmake sense out of a chaotic universe. And this provocation occurs through animpliedorexplicittransformation,evenifitisjustasimpletransformationofpaintintoanimage,orametaphorinapoem,oramelodyfromasequenceofsounds.167

Conrad’s perspective, that beauty provokes, challenges and transforms us, not only

echoes my earlier discussion of interoceptive sensation, but also aligns with the

commentsofphilosopherProfessorElaineScarrywhonoted,“…behindthebeautiful

personorthing…theperceiverisledtoamorecapaciousregardfortheworld.”168She

goesontosaythat“…ingeneral“beauty”isassociatedwithalifecompactorcontract,

wheretheperceiverabstainsfromharming,orevenactivelyentersintotheprotection

of,thisfragmentoftheworld.”169

Scarry’s use of theword perceiver is particularly interesting, as instead of themore

passive idea of an audiencewho observe artwork, it indicates a perceptual process,

whereanindividualmightgaingreaterpersonalunderstandingfromactivelyreflecting

on,andperceivingsomethingbeyond itssurface image. Intheearlierquote,Conrad,

too, describes the parts of the mind that perceive and interpret ideas further, in

response to an engagement with beauty. Related to this, Scarry notes that, “The

structure of perceiving beauty appears to have a two-part scaffolding: first, one’s

attentionisvoluntarilyextendedouttootherpersonsorthings.Itisasthoughbeautiful

thingshavebeenplacedhereandtherethroughouttheworldtoserveassmallwake-

upcallstoperception,spurringlapsedalertnessbacktoitsmostacutelevel.Throughits

167DanielConrad,“AestheticsinScienceandArt”MappingtheTerrainofContemporaryEcoArtPracticeandCollaboration,ArtinEcology–AThinkTankonArtsandSustainability,AResearchReportbyBethCarruthersfortheCanadianCommissionforUNESCO,Vancouver,BritishColumbia,April272006:20,http://unesco.ca/~/media/pdf/unesco/bethcarruthersartinecologyresearchreportenglish.pdf168ElaineScarry,OnBeautyandBeingJust(NewJersey:PrincetonUniversityPress,1999),47-48.169Ibid.,128.

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beauty,theworldcontinuallyrecommitsustoarigorousstandardofperceptualcare;if

wedonotsearchitout,itcomesandfindsus.”170

Echoing the previously cited journal paper, Conrad describes beauty as having a

structure, includingtextureanddetail,andhealsodescribesmeaningandpattern in

relationtocreativeorganisation.Theseaspects,whichconnecttothetransformationof

beauty,canalsobefoundintheworkoftheartistAgnesMartin,whosaid,“WhenIthink

ofartIthinkofbeauty.Beautyisthemysteryoflife.Itisnotjustintheeye.Itisinthe

mind.Itisourpositiveresponsetolife.Weseeeverythinginitsperfection.”171Through

her artwork and her writing about her artwork, Martin used various processes to

enhancemeditativepractice,andthisalignswiththeworkofseveralartistswhosework

waspreviouslydiscussedinChapterTwo.Shewasclearandarticulate,infirstanalysing,

andthendescribingherownaestheticandartisticintent.

LookingattheartworkofAgnesMartinprovokesfeelingsofcalmnessandameditative

mindfulness.Herdrawingsandpaintingsappeardeceptivelysimple,andyetmanageto

communicate a sense of soulful stillness, and I feel they show a great depth of the

insight,intuitionandintegrationthatSiegeldescribed.AsIviewheroftengeometrically

basedartIsensenatureandbeauty,andtherhythmofwaves,wind,waterandwood.

Formanyyears, Ihavehadthis inspiringquotepinnedupinmystudio:“WhenIfirst

madeagridIhappenedtobethinkingoftheinnocenceoftrees,andthenthisgridcame

intomymindandIthoughtitrepresentedinnocence,andIstilldo,andsoIpaintedit

andthenIwassatisfied.Ithought,thisismyvision.”172

Martin’seloquentwritingaboutherownthoughtprocesseswhilecreatingandmaking

artalsoremindmeoftheTripodofReflectionintheirinherentopenness,observation

andobjectivity.Martinwasacutelyawareofherownthoughtprocesses,asevidenced

bythemanyhandwrittenstatementsandexplanationssheofferedasreflectionsonher

artisticpractice.Thesentimentssheexpressedarealsoechoedbyothers,“Art isone

resourcethatcanleadusbacktoamoreaccurateassessmentofwhat isvaluableby

170Ibid.,81.171ArneGlimcher,AgnesMartinPaintings,Writings,Remembrances(London:PhaidonPress,2012),169.172SuzanCampbell,“AgnesMartinInterview”transcriptinArchivesofAmericanArt,TheSmithsonianInstitution,Washington,D.C.,May15,1989.

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workingagainsthabitandinvitingustorecalibratewhatweadmireorlove.”173There

aresomeestablished,olderoppositionsbetweennatureandculture,andhumanand

non-humanthatarebeyondthescopeofthisthesis–butMartin,liketheEcoArtistAndy

Goldsworthy,consciouslywantedherworkstolookhuman-madeandsawnoopposition

betweenapplyingher ideasofnatureand trees in linedgrids. Shewasnot trying to

replicatenature,ortrees,shewascapturingtheirinnocence,andcreatingastillsource

ofcalminabusyworld.Goldsworthysharesthisperspective,and,“Everythinghedoes

has, at somepoint, the imprintof thehuman.Myart isunmistakably theworkof a

person,”heinsisted,“Iwouldnotwantitotherwise–itcelebratesmyhumannature

and a need to be physically and spiritually bound to the earth.”174 This pared back,

beautifulaestheticintheworkofMartinandGoldsworthycanalsobeseenintheearlier

worksofWolseley,Watson,Hesse-Honegger,Landy,IkedaandBuckland,discussedin

ChapterTwo.

Further,Goldsworthy“…hasamoreinclusivetake–heisexploringwhatitmeanstobe

alive.Inthissense,Goldsworthyisatrulyecologicalartist,afoundermemberofanew

tradition.”175MartinandGoldsworthybothgenerateasenseofaweandusenatureto

produce works which dominate in their larger than human scale, reminding us of

nature’spersuasivepowertocalmandrestoreus.176Weperceivethroughtheirsubtle

use of scale, pattern, balance, texture, detail and colour, not just a transition from

nature,butatransience,wheretimeseemstoslowdownthefranticpaceofmodern

life. Our ‘capacious regard’ is enhanced and honed by reflecting on their art, and

standing before them, we are in the ‘presence of something vastly greater’ than

ourselves.

173AlaindeBottonandJohnArmstrong,ArtasTherapy(London:PhaidonPress,2016),53.174RichardMabey,“TheLieoftheLand,”TheGuardian,1April2007,https://www.theguardian.com/books/2007/mar/31/art.art175Ibid.176ThephilosopherImmanuelKantproposedthatbeautywasmoreconnectedtoobjects,whereasthesublimewasmorefrequentlyassociatedwithformlesssubjects.PriortotheworkofMartinandGoldsworthy,Romanticartistsinthenineteenthcenturyalsosometimesexploredtheideaofthesublimethroughlargescale,epicrepresentationsofnature.Manyphilosophers,arttheoristsandhistorianshavedebateddifferingdefinitionsanddescriptionsofwhatthesublimeis,overseveraltimeperiods.Afurtherexplorationofbeautyinconnectionwithitsassociatedrelationshipwiththesublimeisbeyondtheremitofthisthesis,andforthesakeofclarityandcoherentnarrative,thesometimesconfusinglycontradictoryexplorationsofothersregardingthesublimearesubsequentlyavoided.

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AsCharlesDarwin,inthelastwordsofOriginoftheSpecieswrote,“Thereisgrandeurin

thisviewoflife,withitsseveralpowers,havingbeenoriginallybreathedintoafewforms

orintoone;andthat,whilstthisplanethasgonecyclingonaccordingtothefixedlawof

gravity,fromsosimpleabeginningendlessformsmostbeautifulandmostwonderful

havebeen,andarebeingevolved.”177

177CharlesDarwin,OntheOriginoftheSpeciesbyMeansofNaturalSelection,FirstEdition,(London:JohnMurray,1859),490.

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CHAPTERFOUR:MyWork

Isareturntobeauty,then,anacknowledgementofart’slimitationswhenitcomestoeffectingsocialchange?Orhaveartistscometosenseadesolationtowhichthey themselves have contributed – mere ashes, given the lingering hope forbeauty?Isareturntobeautyagestureofreconciliationwithaworlddesperatelyinneedofitafterwhatithasbeenthroughintheinterveningdecades–akindofaestheticamnesty?Or,finally,isthereturnaconcessionthatinafutileefforttomodifysocialawareness,arthassacrificedpreciselythatwhichgivesititsdeepestmeaning?Perhapswithholdingbeautyisnolessdeepamoralinfractionasmuchofwhatdeliberatelyde-beautifiedart criticizes.Why shouldanyonebelieveanartistwho inveighsagainst theway theenvironment is treatedyetwhoseownworkgivesashesinsteadofbeauty?178

As noted in Chapter Three, amindful combinationof endangeredplant imageswith

beautyhasthepotentialtore-engageuswiththenaturalworldaroundus,andthework

ofseveralartistsdiscussedinChapterTwo,alsoshow,inthewordsofthequoteabove,

“…areturntobeauty,”ina“gestureofreconciliation.”179Astaticdrawingonawallisa

completedentity,butasweviewit,itmaysuggestotherassociationsorrelatedthings.

Inoneperson inanaudience,adrawingmaysparkaspecificmemoryorassociation

unique to them, through interoceptive sensation, as defined in Chapter Three. In a

differentperson,analternativememoryorassociationmaybemade.So,outsidethe

drawing itself, and unplanned by the artist who created the drawing, is an unseen,

extendedborderwhereotherthingsmaylie–anunknowable“adjacentpossible.”180

There is a personal, uniquely individual possibility for feelings to be evoked and for

alternative,interdisciplinaryassociationstobemadeinthisadjacent,possible,mindful

space.Scarryandothershavedescribedtheroleoftheperceiverintakingtheeffectsof

visualbeautyfurther,andembeddingthembeyondmerelyviewinganimageofnature

in a passive and disconnected, impartial way. The idea suggested by Scarry, that a

perceiverofmyworkmaywanttoprotecttheworldfromfurtherharm,asaresultof

being influenced by being exposed to art which addresses the beauty of nature,

motivatesandinspiresme.

178ArthurC.Danto,“BeautyforAshes,”inNealBenezraandOlgaM.Viso,RegardingBeauty:AViewoftheLateTwentiethCentury,(Washington,D.C.:SmithsonianInstitution,1999),184.179Ibid.180AspreviouslydescribedinthisthesisonPage43.StevenJohnson,WhereGoodIdeasComeFrom:TheSevenPatternsofInnovation,(London:Penguin,2010),31.

110

InthisadjacentpossiblethereissignificantpotentialforTransmediaArttooverlapand

combinewith Eco Art, to play amore dynamic role, to transition into the “shadow

future” described by Johnson, “…where the present can reinvent itself.”181 The

combinationofmoving imageandsoundcanpotentiallyenhanceadream-likestate,

andsparkmoresubconsciousfreeassociationsandemotionalconnections.Thesense

ofdissatisfactionIfeltin2009whenIlookedatmysoloexhibition–allstaticframed

drawingsunderglassonthewallsoftheRedBoxGallery–wasacatalystforthedesire

tosubsequentlyresearchotherwaysofevolvingmyworkintosomethingartisticallynew

and less predictable in practice. As previously noted, developing the ideas for the

residencyartworkthroughout2008waschallenging,asIseemedtohaveaninherent

predispositionfromyearsofteachingtowanttosomehowmakethedrawingsovertly

didacticandprescriptive.TheworkwasbetterifImanagedtoreducethestrongurgeto

preachanenvironmentalmessageatthesametime,andthishascontinuedtobethe

case.

Inthe2009seriesABookofHours(Figures3and4),thepagesoftheimaginarybook

initiallyhadwordsonthem–quotesandpassagesaboutendangeredspecies–making

themessagecrystal-clear.Aftermuchtrialanderror,Irealisedthatallthatwasneeded

were lines,suggestingaprintedpage.Astheseriesprogressed,however, inthefinal

fourpiecesthelinesdisappearedaltogether,andtheimagesoftheLivingFossilplants

floatedoutoftheovalandintotheframe,asseeninFigure3intheIntroduction.With

thebenefitofhindsight,thesefinalfourwerethestrongestimagesofthetwelveinthe

completedBookofHoursseries–simpler,yetmoresuggestiveoftheideaofmemory

andloss.Thissenseofareduced,pareddownimage,wheretheessenceoftheideahas

asubtlersensibility,appearsintheworkofotherartistswhosebeautifuldrawings,also

relatedtoenvironmentalconcerns,aredescribedinChapterTwo.

Thehand-sizedShardsbyDavidBucklandshowninFigure18allowaphysicalcloseness

to the images in a more direct and tangible way than I managed to achieve inmy

previousexhibition.AsthepreparationforAscendantandDescendantshowconcluded,

IrealisedthatIhadbecomeuncomfortablewiththeideaoftheframedworks,practical

181Ibid.,31.

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as theywere.Theconventionof themountsand frames,hungonawallunderglass

somehow removed the viewer from the natural immediacy I had hoped for in my

drawings.Iwasprotectingthework,butindoingsoabarrierwascreatedbetweenthe

viewer-theperceiver-andthebeautyIhadhopedwouldresonate,absorbandengage

them. Looking back on that exhibition now, I think that I was also subconsciously

influenced by the rectangular Red Boxes which were used to store pressed plant

specimensintheHerbarium,andbythescientificsystems,rules,andrigidorderinthe

working environment around me.182 I was required to follow a strict process of

approvals,withatleastthreepeoplereadingandcheckingthefinaldraftofmycatalogue

forexample, toensure thescientificnames for theplantswerecorrect.TheBookof

HoursdrawingswereeventhesamescaleastheRedBoxes,andwhenremovedfrom

theHerbariumwallsandviewedindividually,thedrawingsseemedreducedinimpact.

Thisretrospectiveunderstandingofmyrestrictedthinking,andconstructivecritiqueof

myownpreviousprocess,hasledtoaverydifferentapproachtotheworkIcompleted

duringthethreeyearsoftheresearchdescribedinthisthesis.IkeptthereservationsI

hadnotedregardingmypreviousbodyofworkatthefrontofmymind.

TheFirstYear2015

Atthestartofmyresearchin2015,Ifeltbothoverwhelmedandexcitedbymanyideas

andpossibilities,anditwasdifficultinthatconfusingmixnottodefaulttoknown,safe

andmorepredictableoutcomes. Initially, Icontinuedtosubmitwork forcompetitive

exhibitions,andonepiece, completedafter thecommencementofmyPhDresearch

showedthatthepullofconformitywasastrongforcewhichIneededtomoreactively

resist.MappingtheMemoryoftheWorld,showninFigure26,hasasitsbackgroundthe

vineofanendangeredplantweavinginandoutofaman-madeenvironment,withan

imageofanoldmapgoreoftheglobeintheforeground.Meltingiceissuggestedatthe

tips of the ‘flattened earth’ form. This work was selected for the Laureates of the

InternationalBiennialofDrawingexhibition,andalsopublishedinthebookADifferent

Perspective:ArtworkbytheLaureatesoftheBiennialofDrawingPilsenin2015,asshown

inFigure27.183

182TheRedBoxGalleryattheRoyalBotanicGardenSydneyisnamedaftertheboxeswhichareusedtostoretheplantspecimens.183DanaDoricovaandGabrielaDarebna,ADifferentPerspective:ArtworkbytheLaureatesoftheBiennialofDrawingPilsen,(Pilsen:BiennialofDrawing,2015).

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Figure26.EmmaRobertson,MappingtheMemoryoftheWorld,2015,mixedmedia,39x59cm.

Figure27.EmmaRobertson,MappingtheMemoryoftheWorld,2015,mixedmedia,39x59cmshownin

ADifferent Perspective: Artwork by the Laureates of the Biennial of Drawing Pilsen. On the right is a

previousdrawingIexhibitedintheInternationalBiennialofDrawing,titledTheConstructionofMemory,

2006,mixedmedia,38x58cm.

There isnothingwrongwitha rectangularor squarecompositionper se,butwhen I

reviewed my sketchbooks and photographs from various site visits to different

international Botanic Gardens, I felt that the confines of the geometrical format

inhibitedthesenseofgrowthandnaturethatI,inpart,hadhopedtocommunicate.The

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mediumscalewasalsoanissuewhenIreviewedMappingtheMemoryoftheWorld,

andasmoretimepassed,IrealisedthatIwantedtohavesomeonestandinfrontofmy

drawings and feel something larger than themselves, across a more expansive and

absorbingproportion. Inallhonesty, theuseofthemapgorewasalso influencedby

examining other climate change artist’s works, which frequently seemed to use

diagrams of melting ice, rising sea levels, and other statistically measured global

warmingchanges.Whilethework integratedsomeofthenewpapercuttechniques I

had been experimenting with, it ultimately defaulted to a safer, more conventional

compositionalformat,albeitnotaspredictableandconventionalasthefirstoptionIhad

developed,shownintheinitialTestDrawingbelowinFigure28.

Figure28.EmmaRobertson,TestDrawing,2015,mixedmedia,30x42cm.

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This was precisely the opposite of what I wanted, and so when I was given an

opportunitythefollowingyeartodoalarge-scaleinstallationpieceforagroupshow,I

consciously explored images that could potentially be further developed afterwards,

intoahand-drawnfilmofmyown.IobservedthatIneededtofindamoreauthentic

artisticvoice,ratherthanalignwiththeworkofothers.TheMappingtheMemoryofthe

Worlddrawingwasnota falsestartormistake,butastage inanongoingprocessof

experimentation.Similartotheexperienceofwritingthisthesis,sometimesIbecame

moreclearlyawareofhowIfeltaboutsomethingbywritingitdown,andmakingartwork

iterativelythroughoutmyresearchalsoallowedmetoseevisuallywhatwasdeveloping

inmyownmind.Sometimestheproductof thisprocessworked,andsometimesthe

drawingswerenot successful in theway Iwanted themtobe.Themostchallenging

aspectofmyfirstyearofresearch in2015wasthenegative impactofreadingmany

articles andbookson climate change,which, as described inChapter Three, leftme

feelingdepressedanddisillusioned.

In spite of this, I continued towork and experimentwith drawing techniques in the

studio, and these became increasingly influenced bywhat Iwas researching, and in

particular, as noted in Chapter One, by reading Rachel Carson’s Silent Spring, and

ElizabethKolbert’sTheSixthExtinction,whichdirectlyinfluencedmyimagesandartistic

approaches. Figures 29 and 30 show two further experiments exploring the idea of

makingtheinvisible,visible–theair,carbondioxide,andthesenseoffloatingparticles

appearinboth.184TheTestDrawingshowninFigure29isthelasttimeIusedtheoval

formatwhichhadconsistentlyappearedinmyworkfrom2008on,asmyideaswere

becoming increasingly influenced by Kolbert’s species-area modelling research and

writing,andalsoherdescriptionsoffragmentation,asnotedinChapterOne.Theoval,

inspiredbyVictorianmourningframesandmemorialshapes,becamelessimportantas

acompositionaldeviceinmywork,andthiswasalsoinfluencedbyalternativedrawing

techniquesIwasexploring.Myresearchintomindfulnessbroughtmetoexaminethe

deviceofcircles,andIbecameinterestedintheiruseinmandalasandensos.185

184TheinfluenceofCarson’swritingwasalsonotedinthepreviouslydescribedFigure9onpage25.185“InTibetanBuddhismthereistheintricatepracticeofcreatingmandalas,circularrepresentationsoftheuniverseandallofitsaspects,usedasadeviceforconcentratingthemind.AndthereistheZenenso.”AudreyYoshikoSeo,Enso:ZenCirclesofEnlightenment(Boulder,Colorado:Weatherhill,2009),XI.

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Figures29,30and32showsomeofthefirsttestsIcompletedwherecirclesappeared.

ThelastworkIcompletedforAscendantandDescendant in2009,showninFigure2,

usedacircularcompositionforthefirsttime,andIseethispreviouswork,TheShapeof

Loss,asabridgebetweentheearlierbodyofwork,andmymorerecentexplorations.

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117



118

Figure31showsoneofthematerialchangesinmyartisticpractice,asIexperimented

withscanninglayeredconstructionsfeaturingrealpressedplants.Thelayeringofstrata

describedbyKolbert,andthesenseofthepassageoftimeovermillenniaonEarth,was

consideredinthisTestDrawing.Figure32showstheideaofshadowsbeingcastbythe

plant,andthereiteratedimageisplacedwithinthecompositionalstructureofanold

pageofabook,withtabsmarkedontheright-handside,asthoughtheplanthasbeen

cataloguedandindexedasoneinaseriesofotherendangeredspecies.

Figure 33 extended the idea of time layers, and it used the same papercut form

introducedinthepreviousworkshowninFigure10,whichwasdrawnfromendangered

Australianseaweeds.Figure34focussesonplantseeds,andcastshadows,extending

myearlierdrawingsonthesethemes,discussedinrelationtoFigure5,Fossil,Amber,

Ice.Alloftheseexperimentshelpedmetofindmyway,andbytheendof2015,Iknew

thatIwantedtomoveawayfromtherectangularformat,andtoexpressmoreclearly

hownatureandplantscanhelpustofeelandreconnect,notjustwhattheylooklike.

Myworkinthefollowingtwoyearsofresearchsoughttobringthatsensibilityofsilent

sentienceintopublicspacesinlessconventionalways,toencourageandenhanceour

abilityforamoreconsideredreconnectionwithourownnatures,andareflectionon

potentialloss,exploredthroughthelensofbiophiliaandbeauty.


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120

TheSecondYear2016

Agoodideaisanetwork.Aspecificconstellationofneurons–thousandsofthem–fireinsyncwitheachotherforthefirsttimeinyourbrain,andanideapopsintoyourconsciousness.Anewideaisanetworkofcellsexploringtheadjacentpossibleofconnectionsthattheycanmakeinyourmind.Ifwearegoingtotrytoexplainthemysteryofwhereideascomefrom,we’llhavetostartbyshakingourselvesfreeofthiscommonmisconception:anideaisnotasinglething.Itismorelikeaswarm.186

Thefirstyearhelpedmetoreinvigoratemypractice,andpartofthisprocessfeatured

usingmydrawings to create laser cutpaperpieces, andexamplesof this technique,

whichIhadnotpreviouslyused,areshowninFigures10,26,33,35,and36.Theabove

quoteaptlydescribesthesenseIhadatthebeginningof2016,wheremultiple ideas

wereswarming inmyconsciousmind. Iwasenjoying theprocessesofmaking in the

studio, but I was still working on aligning my creative practice with the rest of my

researchandwriting. Inearly2016,acall forsubmissionsfortheFutureStratigraphy

exhibition,curatedbyDrKathFries,helpedconsiderablytonarrowmyfocus,ashaving

to articulate and expressmy response to the invitation to submit, clarifiedmy own

thinking.FutureStratigraphywaspresentedbytheNewMaterialisminContemporary

Art research cluster at Sydney College of the Arts, the University of Sydney. The

exhibitioncataloguenotes,inpart,that,“FutureStratigraphyoffersasliceofpresent

time,analmostarchaeologicalgatheringofworkbyartistscritiquingtheAnthropocene

fromwithin.Theseartistsareengagingwiththematerialagencyoftheirsurroundings,

bothmetaphoricallyandactually.”187

After Iwasnotifiedofmy successful selection,DrKath Fries came to visitme inmy

studio,andherenthusiasmformywork,andgenerousspiritwasveryencouraging.Ihad

derived considerable benefit from attending the Graduate Forum presentations and

workshops,andbecomingpartofafurthercommunityofmyfellowartistsandpeers

gavemetheimportantsupportIneededtostepoutofmycomfortzone.Myfirsttest

for the work for Future Stratigraphy is shown in Figure 35, and following various

iterations,Iabandonedthebackgroundandperforatedpiecesforasimpler,largerscale

186StevenJohnson,WhereGoodIdeasComeFrom:TheSevenPatternsofInnovation,(London:Penguin,2010),45-46.187KathFries,“FutureStratigraphy,”inFutureStratigraphy,Sydney:SydneyCollegeoftheArts,2016,exhibitioncatalogue,7.

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work,showninFigure36.Iconsciouslychosetomoveawayfromthepresentationstyle

of framed drawings, and after considering Figure 35, I chose instead to explore the

shadows castby the cutpaperwhenpositioned slightlyout from thewall in a freer

format.

Figure 35. Emma Robertson, Test Drawing,experiment forThe Archaeology of Absence, 2016,mixedmedia,30x42cm.

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Figure36.EmmaRobertson,TheArchaeologyofAbsence,detail,2016,mixedmedia,300x300cm.

TheArchaeologyofAbsencewasinspiredbyboththebriefDrKathFriesset,andbya

quotefromColette“Itisthememoryinthemindthatbindsustoourlosttreasures,but

itisthelossthatshapestheimage,gatherstheflowers,weavesthegarland.”188Thisis

thesamequotethatIusedasthebasisoftheearlierworkTheShapeofLossin2009,

which featured the extinct Bennett’s Seaweed. For the first time in my practice, I

positionedthe115predominantlycircularshapeddrawingsfromrooftofloorandacross

threemetres square ofwhitewall, so that they appeared to float across the space.

Duringtheinstallation,Iintuitivelyexperimentedwiththescaleandweightingofeach

piece,toallowastrongersenseoffallingthroughspacetooccur,andthiswasinfluenced

188Colette,EarthlyParadise:AnAutobiographyofColetteDrawnfromHerLifetimeWritings,(NewYork:Farrar,StrausandGiroux,1966),n.p.

123

bytheearlierstudiesofairparticles.Notallofthepiecesweredetailsofplants,and

manyofthegeometricallyshapeddetailswereleftambiguouslyabstracttostimulatea

strongersenseoftheadjacentpossible.Someofthecirclesshowedshadowsofplants

whichechoedasenseofmovementandlayering,andIenjoyedthefeelingofafreer

process,asIcoulditerativelyexperimentwithdifferentassimilationsandcombinations

of possibilities, and further document these in my sketchbook and notes. Initially I

arranged the multiple shaped drawings in a large circle, and although I ultimately

changedthisinthefinalarrangement,Ireturnedtothatcompositionalideainalater

work, Living Fossils in 2017 (Figure 45). Monochrome was selected to hold the

compositiontogethervisually,andtoalsoenhanceasenseofstillnessandcalm.Some

ofthecutpaperpiecescamefromadrawingofanarchaeologicaldigatthesiteofan

oldurbansettlement,sotheworkasawholejuxtaposedfreeflowinglinesfromnature,

alongsidethecrosshatched linesofhumanenvironments.Seedswerealso included,

andsomeweredrawnasthoughenlargedthroughamicroscope,whileotherplantssuch

as theGingkoBiloba leafweredrawntoscale.Therectangular formsshowed leaves

repeated intheformofasprue,adeviceusedtomassproduceplastic items,where

individual pieces are pressed out in one sheet. The end result was a biomorphic

abstraction,anditfedintomyideasforthenewfilmworkwhichfollowedin2017.

Anotherreasonforwantingtogetoutofthephysicalartworkframe,andtointegrate

mydrawingsintoaspecificenvironmentinamoredirectandtactileway,issuggested

bythefollowingquotefromthescientistandpalaeontologistScottSampson:“Wemust

learntoseeourselvesnotasisolatedbutaspermeableandinterwoven–selveswithin

larger selves, including the species self (humanity) and the biospheric self (life). The

interbeing perspective encourages us to view other life forms not as objects but

subjects,fellowtravellersinthecurrentofthisancientriver.Onastillmoreprofound

level,itenablesustoenvisionourselvesandotherorganismsnotasstatic“things”at

all,butasprocessesdeeplyandinextricablyembeddedinthebackgroundflow.”189This

quotewas at the front ofmymind as I installedTheArchaeology of Absence,and I

carefullyconsideredtheoverallweightandbalanceofthework,andgeneratedcircles

189ScottSampson,“WhatScientificConceptWouldImproveEverybody’sCognitiveToolkit?”Edge, lastmodifiedOctober222015,https://www.edge.org/response-detail/10866

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within larger circles as a way of representing an osmosis, and permeable sense of

interrelatedimagesflowingbackandforth.

Appropriatetothediscussiononmindsightandmindfulness,thearticlethatthisquote

comesfrom,detailstheconceptofinterbeingasoriginatinginBuddhistphilosophy.The

concepts of the adjacent possible and interbeing seem to interconnect with one

another,andbothreinforcetheimportanceinmynewbodiesofworkofbringingthe

‘backgroundflow’ofthe‘ancientriver’obliquelyreferencedbySampsonmoreintothe

foregroundofthework.IwasdelightedwhenProfessorAmandaBarnierselectedthis

image frommore than twenty I sent through forconsiderationasacoverdesign for

CollaborativeRemembering(OxfordUniversityPress,2017),showninFigure37.None

ofthetwentyimagesprovidedweredated,andthefactthatshechosemymostrecent

workfromallthosesupplied,furtherencouragedmynewdirection.

Figure37.EmmaRobertson,TheArchaeologyofAbsence,detail,2015,onthecoverofCollaborativeRemembering(OxfordUniversityPress,2017).

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TheThirdYear2017

Through my involvement in Future Stratigraphy, and after becoming part of an

important,supportivecommunityofotherartistsinterestedinclimatechangeissues,

my spirits and depression lifted, and I pursued an opportunity to again exhibit my

developingworkinpublic,withintheFisherLibraryattheUniversityofSydney.Requiem

(Red)wasdisplayedinthreelargeglassvitrinesforseveralmonthsinearly2017(Figures

38,39,and40).Thisinstallationusedthedeviceofrepurposedolddisplayboxesfrom

theBritishMuseum,andthecastshadowsofactualpressedplants,tocreatealayered

entanglingofplantsandpeople, inhonourof the scientistsandotherswhowork to

updateTheRedListofendangeredspecies.Theworkevokesthefeelingofthestillness

andquietofHerbariums,andthesettingintheFisherLibraryenhancedthissenseof

history,andthedifferentformsofstoringpreciousuniqueobjects.

Figure38.EmmaRobertson,Requiem(Red),detail,2017,mixedmedia,sizesofinstallationvarious.Thisshowsoneof three largeglass vitrineson three floorsof the Fisher Library at SydneyUniversity. ThecriticallyendangeredEucalyptusCopulanspressedplantswereattached to theglassdoors, floating infrontofthedrawings.

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Figure39.EmmaRobertson,Requiem(Red),detail,2017,mixedmedia,sizesofinstallationvarious.ThisshowsadetailofoneofthreeglassvitrinesonthreefloorsoftheFisherLibraryatSydneyUniversity.OnthetopshelfwererepurposedolddisplayboxesfromtheBritishMuseum.Thedrawnimagesintheboxesreferencemourningjewellery,whichwasoftenmadeoutofjet,afossilisedwood,inVictoriantimes.Sizesofinstallationvarious.

Iaimedtolayertogetherandintegrateimagesfromthepersonal,therepresentational,

andthehistoric,andfortheworktofeelcalmandreflective,withaninherentsenseof

orderandbalance.Iwasalsointerestedinattemptingtoconveysomeoftheaspectsof

beautyIhadobservedintheworkofseveralotherartists,andparticularlyinthework

ofAgnesMartin,discussed inChapterThree. Ideliberatelyexplored:thechangingof

scalesanddetails,fromsmallboxestolargerdrawings;layering,inthepressedplants

appearing infrontofthedrawings;colourfocalpoints, insmalldetailsofredagainst

otherwise neutral fields; textural variation, in real plants juxtaposedwith cut paper

works;andfinally,balanceandpattern,intheuseofrepetitioninsomeofthedrawings,

suchasthethreemainworksinFigure38,andthemuseumboxesinFigure39.

The exhibition had a temporal aspect, and was an attempt to present a dialogue

betweenthetimeinwhichwelive,whileintegratingimagesofplantsfromthepast.I

deliberatelyexploredtheconceptof thecasesbyusingthefilterdescribedbyJames

Putnam, as the increasing tendency for contemporary artists to, “…employ typical

museum display devices such as vitrines, archive boxes, specimen jars, descriptive

labels,drawercabinetsandevenpackingcrates.”190Healsonotedthe“…applicationof

museologicalmethodstoboththeproductionandpresentationoftheirwork.”191

190JamesPutnam,ArtandArtifact:TheMuseumasMedium,(London:Thames&Hudson,2009),34.191Ibid.,34.

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Figure40.EmmaRobertson,Requiem(Red),detail,2017,mixedmedia,sizesofinstallationvarious.ThisshowsadetailofoneofthreeglassvitrinesacrossthreefloorsoftheFisherLibraryatSydneyUniversity.Pressed plants of endangered species are included in the installation artwork to evoke the feeling ofHerbariumdisplays.ThecriticallyendangeredNightcapOakisshownhere,infrontofacutpaperdrawing.Specific to thiswork, in addition to James Putnam’swriting, Iwas also influenced by Professor ColinRenfrewwhoprovidedfurtheranalysisregardingtheideasofmemoryandcommunityrecollectionsinthe“symbolicstorage”ofmuseumandartisticobjectsinFiguringItOut:TheParallelVisionsofArtistsandArchaeologists,(London:Thames&Hudson,2003),144.

128

Completingthisinstallationmademanyofmyideasfeelreal–Icouldseethingsthat

worked,andthingsthatdidnotworkinthewayIhadimaginedthem.Imadenotesin

mysketchbookwhereIrecordedtheideaoffloatingthecutpaperpiecesfreelyfrom

theedgeoftheglassshelves,andIcamebacktothisidea,andrealiseditinadifferent

installation,ArtandNature:Antidotes toAnxiety,againat theFisherLibrary, later in

2017.

ThisChapterhasnotedthefirstseriesofnewworksin2016whichfeaturedfreefloating

circles,andthesecondserieswhichwasaninstallationina library in2017.Thethird

series,alsocreatedin2017,usedscannedimagesofmydrawingsfrom2015-2017to

createavisualmeditationandnarrativeintwoshortfilms.Iwaskeentopursuethisidea

inparallelwithmydevelopingresearchintothepossibleoverlapsbetweenEcoArtand

TransmediaArt,previouslydescribedinChapterTwo.

Thefocusofthisthesisspecificallyrelatestodrawings,anditanalysesanddiscussesthe

abilityofthismediumtomovepeopleinresponsetoimageryandcompositionsrelating

totheenvironmentandnaturalworld.Connectedtothisoverarchingthemeisthe2012

workFluxbytheAustralianartistAnaPollak,whichshehasdescribedasahand-drawn

film.MorethanonethousanddrawingsweremadebyPollak,basedonherobservations

oftheHawkesburyRivernearherstudio.Eachdrawinghasitsownbeauty,andengages

usinthewayitsuggestswater,andinitsuseofcalligraphic,loosemarksonthesurface

ofthepaper.Incombination,however,andwithcarefulandcreativeediting,themoving

imagessurpassthestaticdrawingsandcollectivelycreateanabsorbing,meditativeand

movingpieceofwork.Theshortfilminnovativelyexplorestheimpactandpotentialof

rendered marks, when subsequently presented as moving images. These drawings

engagetheviewer inonewayasstaticstand-aloneentities,but incombinationthey

synthesise into another entity, and become memorable in a different way, when

movementisadded.

The film shows Pollak’s ability to combine the sometimes disparate oppositional

qualitiesofsilenceandnoise,movementandcalm,anddensityandopenfluidspace.

Pollackreflectedthatshe“…’didn’tknowwhereeachdrawingwasgoingtogoatthe

beginning…[or]wherethesequence[would]go.’Herprocesswasintuitiveandreactive,

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witheachfinisheddrawingsuggestingawayforthenext.”192Ofparticularimportance

toPollakwas the challengeof echoing the variationof thewater in thepassagesof

minimalist music, composed by a sound artist. Pollak says of working with the

soundtrackthat“Itaddedtoacontinuumoftransformations,whereimagesareturned

intosound,soundintoimages,andbackagain.”193

LikePollak,myprocessincreatingtwoshortfilmsusingmydrawingswasintuitive,and

IwaslearningaboutthemediumofmovingimagesasIwent.ThefirstfilmIco-created

usingmydrawingswascalledMicrographia,(Figure42)andthesecondwasDeposition

Lines(Figure43).Bothfilmsusedsoundscapesandcombinedrealimagesofendangered

plantswiththedrawings,andtheyintegratedcutpaperlayers,changingfocalpoints,

alternating light sources, and other visual devices to evoke a calm, meditative

experience(linkstobothfilmsarenotedbelowinFigure41).

MICROGRAPHIA-https://vimeo.com/222003403

DEPOSITIONLINES-https://vimeo.com/222012367

Figure41.EmmaRobertsonandMargaretMcHugh,Micrographia,andDepositionLinesvideolinks,2017.

Figure42.EmmaRobertsonandMargaretMcHugh,Micrographiastill,at2.44fromvideo,2017. 192AnneRyan,“AnaPollak,”DrawingOut,DobellAustralianBiennial,(Sydney:ArtGalleryofNewSouthWales,2014),45-46.193Ibid.,46.

130

Figure43.EmmaRobertsonandMargaretMcHugh,DepositionLinesstill,at1.14fromvideo,2017.

I scannedmy drawings, and then grouped them thematically, aligning them with a

conceptualbriefrelatedtotheideaofacentrallineflowingthroughthework.Iinitially

created a film myself, which scrolled through a sequence of my images, and I

experimentedwithfadinginandout,butIcouldnotgetthestandardoffinishIwanted,

so I then collaboratedwith a videoeditor,MargaretMcHugh. Eachof the two films

requiredthreeseparateeditstogetthelevelofintegrationandsenseofharmonious

flow I wanted. The intent ofMicrographia was two-fold, as I wanted to use the

endangeredplantdrawingsinanewway,andIalsowantedtoreintroducemorecolour

backintomywork.TheRequiem(Red) installationalsogavemefurtherideas,which

reappearedinthefilminregardstolayering.

DepositionLineslookedquitedifferenttoMicrographia,asthedeviceofmovingwater

wasdeployed,andratherthanthemorestaticqualityofthescanneddrawingsusedin

Micrographia,(inpartinspiredbyRobertHooke’sbookofmicrostudiesin1665)longer

panningshotsoflargerdrawingsappeared.Ihadintendedtocompleteathirdfilm,but

Iwas invitedtosubmitwork toagroupexhibition,DrawnThreads,at theAustralian

NationalUniversityinCanberra,andoptedtopursuethatopportunityinstead.

AtthetimeIwasworkingonthetwofilms,Iresearchedseveralotherartist’sfilmswhich

featured drawing. Although I have never owned a mobile phone, I am not against

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technology–digitalcollaborationcanundoubtedlyhelpartiststoreachnewaudiences,

andasadesigneraswellasanartist,Iamwellversedinthemyriadwaysthattechnology

canassistcreativepractice,asevidencedbymyrecentexplorationoflasercutpaper,

which is facilitated by using illustrator software programs. However, the use of

technologycanpotentiallyinhibitorenhance‘mindsight’–andIneedtotakecareIam

notconverselyandcounterintuitively feedingtheproblemofanxiousdisconnection I

am, in part, trying to address. Frommy perspective, is the process of watchingmy

drawingsasmovingimagesonascreenlikelytoimproveanimmersioninmindfulness,

andcreateastrongersenseofre-engagementwithbeauty?Iamstillnotsureofthe

answertothatquestion,althoughtheadditionofsoundscapesinbothfilmsdidappear

toaddanadditionalresonance,thatmystaticdrawingsperhapsdonothave.Ialways

listentomusicwhenIdraw,anditisanimportantpartofmyartisticprocessandsense

ofcreativeflow,sohearingsoundsseemedtoaddafurthercalmingeffecttothefilms.

Mysketchbookshowsthemany ideaswhich flowedfromthe filmprocess,and from

importantconversationswithMargaret,as I fine-tunedtheediting. Ihadone ideato

freezepressedplantsinice,andthenfilmthemmeltingintoadrawing,andanotheridea

to repeat the film projection, but onto a different surface each time. The idea of

projectingthefilmbackontorealplants,andthenrefilmingtheircastshadows,isone

ofseveralfutureadaptationsandextensionsIamkeentodevelopandexplore.

Midway inthefinalyearofmyresearch, Idevelopedanother large-scale installation

drawing,not longafter the filmswerecompleted.Thiswork,LivingFossils, formeda

reinterpretation of the discussion of appropriated scientific illustration images in

ChapterTwo.InJune-Julyof2017IspentsometimeworkingattheRoyalBotanicGarden

Edinburgh,Scotland,anddiscoveredawonderfulbookofdrawingsandstudiesoffossil

plants,preservedincoalandrock,frommorethan160yearsago.194Iwasdisappointed

to see that the research andwriting of the scientist and author, Dr Constantin von

Ettingshausenwasacknowledgedandprominentlydisplayed,butthatthenamesofthe

illustrators,whoseextraordinaryskillandbeautifulrenderingssoadeptlybroughtthe

scientificunderstanding inthebooktothefore,wereunfortunatelynotrecordedfor

posterity.IconsideredtitlingtheworkArtistsUnknown,inrecognitionofthisoversight,

194ConstantinvonEttingshausen,DieTertiaer-FlorenDerOesterreichischenMonarchie(Vienna,Austria,1851).

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butultimatelyfeltthatbringingtheimagesofthepreservedplantsbacktolifeinanew

format,andmuchlargerscale,wasperhapsaformofrecognitioninitself.IntheLiving

Fossilinstallation,Itookthesmallstudies,enlargedthem,andhadthemprintedonto

watercolourpaper.Inmyexperimentation,Idiscoveredthatthismediumgivesalovely

texturalmark,whenitisperforatedbyasewingmachineneedlerunoverthesurface,

withoutthreadinit,asseeninthedetailinFigure44.Crosssectionsoffossilisedtrees

appeared,andImergedtheworkoftheoldwiththenew,floatingmanyofthe24images

onto laser cut paper circles, creating a duality between urban settlements from

archaeologicalmaps, juxtaposedwith the plants. Utilising the concept ofmeditative

mandalasandensorings,withoutadefinedbeginningandend,Iarrangedthecircles

intoalargetwometrediametercircle.AninstallationviewattheDrawnThreadgroup

exhibitionattheAustralianNationalUniversityinCanberraisshowninFigure45.

Figure44.EmmaRobertson,LivingFossil,detailofoneofthe24panels,2017.

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Figure45.EmmaRobertson,LivingFossils,watercolourpaper,printinginkandcutpaper,24panels,2017.InstallationviewattheDrawnThreadexhibition,AustralianNationalUniversity.Size200x200cm.

Figure 46. Emma Robertson, article Biophilia and Beauty, originally published in Artists and ClimateChange,2017.

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Figure 47. Emma Robertson, article Biophilia and Beauty, republished in The Center for SustainablePracticeintheArts,2017.

Aswiththefirstyearofmyresearch,mywritingcontinuedtodevelopinparallelwith

myartpractice,andIhadaJournalproposalpeerreviewedandacceptedbyDrThomas

BristowandDrDanielleWyatt,UniversityofMelbourne,co-editorsofUnlikelyJournal,

SpecialIssue,ArtandHerbariums.Sixteenfigures,mostofthemmydrawings,appeared

in the piece, Transitions: Biophilia, Beauty and Herbariums, which described the

development of my work since 2008, and ongoing connections with several Royal

Botanic Gardens in different major cities. I have spent a lot of time in different

international Herbariums over the last ten years, andwelcomed the opportunity to

describe the influences that they have had on my research into endangered plant

species,andartwork.

Followingthis,aseparatearticle,BiophiliaandBeauty,seeFigure46,wasacceptedby

Chantal Bilodeau, Founder of the international networkArtists and Climate Change,

(USA)andfeaturedontheirwebsite.Fourrecentimages,andthetwoshortfilmsfrom

myPhDstudywere featured in thispiece, and itwas subsequently republished (see

Figure47)byTheCenterforSustainablePracticeintheArts(USA),andalsobyRichard

Povall, who cross-promoted it on Art.Earth.org, which is based in the UK. Theatre

DirectorLeylaModirzadehatSanJoseCityCollege,USA,sawmyfilmworkthroughthe

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linksinthearticle,andasaresult,shescreenedandusedbothmyfilmsonstageintheir

ClimateChangeTheatreActioninNovember2017.

This activity represented a significant increase in using my artwork and writing to

consciouslyconnectwithnewglobalaudiences,andIwasencouragedbythefeedback

andmessagesIreceivedasaresultoftheseendeavours.Inthefinalstageofmystudy,

Iapproached,andwasacceptedbyTheBigAnxietyFestival,aneventwhichconnects

morethansixtydifferentcreativepractitionersandmultipleorganisations,whoworkon

themesrelatingtopeoplewhosufferfromanxietyinoursociety.Thiswasaremarkably

well timed opportunity to test and explore my interest in ecoanxiety, biophilia,

mindfulness and beauty in a more interactive and deliberate way. I created an

exhibition,ArtandNature:AntidotestoAnxiety,attheFisherLibraryinOctober2017,

andalso,aspartofTheBigAnxietyFestivalandMentalHealthMonth,Iorganisedand

taughttwopublicworkshopsattheRoyalBotanicGardenSydney,seeFigure48.The

workshopsbuiltontheideathatusingdrawnimagesofobservednaturecanallowusto

reconnectwithourownemotionsandhelptoalleviateanxiety.Weusedseedpodsand

plants as sources of creative inspiration, and tested variousmeditative andmindful

drawing techniques, which explored the idea that our empathy is enhanced by our

emotional response to natural beauty. I was delighted by the excellent feedback I

receivedfromteachingboththeseworkshops(seeAppendixA).

Figure48.EmmaRobertson,fromTheBigAnxietyFestivalwebsite,showingpartofthemarketingformyexhibitionArtandNature:AntidotestoAnxiety,andtwoworkshops,DrawingfortheMindonSunday8October,andMakingwithMindfulnessonSunday22October,2017.

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Selected imagesfrommywork inArtandNature:AntidotestoAnxiety,areshownin

Figures49-53.Iusedfivecases,thethreepreviouslydescribedlargeglassvitrines,and

alsotwofreestandingthreedimensionalunits.

Figure49.EmmaRobertson,ArtandNature:AntidotestoAnxiety,installingCase4,2017.

Figure50.EmmaRobertson,ArtandNature:AntidotestoAnxiety,completedCase5,2017.

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Theseadditionaltwofreestandingunitsprovidedachancetoexploreanotheraspect,

andIembracedtheopportunitytorealiseanideathatIhadbeenthinkingaboutforover

twoyears,sincethefirstyearofmyPhDstudies.TheimageofChristo’sWrappedGlobe,

discussedpreviouslyinChapterOne,hadprovokedme,andIwantedtoexperimentwith

globeforms,butinsteadofapessimistic,abandonedEarthonabeach,Ichosetoshow

imagesofplantsinnaturethatIhaddrawn,acrossmultiplethree-dimensionalforms,as

shown in Figures 51 and 52. This expanded the idea that art can create aesthetic

experienceswheretheaudiencecanperceiveworkthatempowersthemtointerpret

andre-seethenaturalworld.TheideaofcastshadowsflowedfromtheworkinCases4

and5,showninFigures49and50.IdeployedmirrorsintheshelvinginFigure50,and

thesmallerglobesinCase5castaninterestingreflectionalongsidelotusseedpods.

Figure51.EmmaRobertson,ArtandNature:AntidotestoAnxiety,Case2,detail,2017.Lefthandglobe30cmdiameter,righthandglobe25cmdiameter.

Figure52.EmmaRobertson,ArtandNature:AntidotestoAnxiety, installingCases1and2,2017.Sizesvarious,rangingfrom10cmdiameterto30cmdiameter.

138

Figure53.EmmaRobertson,testingglobegroupingsandscale,forArtandNature:AntidotestoAnxiety,2017.Sizesrangefrom15cmdiameterto30cmdiameter.

139

Furtherextendingtheideaofbeauty,balanceandpattern,Iusedmydrawingsacross

severaldifferentanddiverseproportional scales, as though theorbswere somehow

interconnectedasfamilygroupswhichbelongtogether.Smallerpatternsandtextures

derived from plants were juxtaposed with larger leaves and details. I worked with

asymmetry,ontheonehandcreatingeachglobeasabalancedandharmoniouswhole,

whileontheotherhand,suggestingsubtlefocalpointsofattention.

Once I had completed the globes, I started to consider how theywould look filmed

outsideinnature,withdappledlightcreatingasenseofmovement,andonreflective

surfaces such aswater, and I look forward to developing these ideas further in the

future.Thisthree-dimensionalseriesrepresentedasignificantdepartureformydrawing

work,andinspiredmetofurtherreconsideranotherideaforanartist’sbookwhichIhad

developedasaresultofresearchingLivingFossils.Co-authorsProfessorAndrewHoskins

andProfessorAmandaBarnier’sforthcomingbookMemoryintheHeadandintheWild:

InterdisciplinarityinMemoryStudieswillalsobeillustratedbymyrecentdrawings.

ChapterFour,alongwiththeexhibitionworkslistedinAppendixB,demonstratesthat

mypracticebasedresearchoverthelastthreeyearshasexploredalternativewaysto

usedrawn imagesofendangeredplants, inorder toconnectwithawiderandmore

diverseaudienceaboutthenegativepsychologicalimpactofclimatechange.Ipropose,

throughseveraldistinctbodiesofworks,thatreconceptualisingstaticdrawingsintonew

threedimensional forms, includingmoving imagesandartist’sbooks, canpotentially

extend and deepen emotive experiences, and can assuage feelings of ecoanxiety in

relation toclimatechange.Archival,andscientificmaterial fromHerbariumsandold

books,canalsore-emergeinunexpectedplacesandalternativelocations,andbecome

connectedto,andentangledwith,othernewideas,extendingandadaptingtheadjacent

possibilities. Our need to reconnect with nature, in the midst of everyday urban

environmentssuchaslibraries,onlinethroughlinkstoartistfilms,andinworkshopswith

others,presentopportunitiestosharethebeautyofnatureinmoremindfulways.195

195Althoughnotdirectlyusedasareferencewithinthisthesis,IhavepreviouslybeeninfluencedbythedistinctiondescribedbySarahWoodsbetweenpersonalandcommunalnarratives,whereIcanlookforopportunitiestoextendmyowninvolvementandengagement,andactivelyandhonestlysharemyworkwithothers.ThemodelofNarrativeLayersbySarahWoods,asnotedinLucyNeal,PlayingforTime:makingartasiftheworldmattered(London:OberonBooks,2015),396.

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CONCLUSION:TransitionsandFutureView

Ahumanbeingisapartofthewhole,calledbyus“Universe,”apart limitedintimeandspace.Heexperienceshimself,histhoughtsandfeelings,assomethingseparated from the rest, a kind of optical delusion of his consciousness. Thisdelusion isakindofprison forus, restrictingus toourpersonaldesiresandtoaffectionforafewpersonsnearesttous.Ourtaskmustbetofreeourselvesfromthisprisonbywideningourcircleofcompassiontoembraceall livingcreaturesandthewholeofnatureinitsbeauty.Nobodyisabletoachievethiscompletely,but the striving for such achievement is in itself a part of the liberation and afoundationforinnersecurity.196

The time I have spent on this research has given me the space to reconsider and

fundamentallyaltermyartisticpractice,inwaysthatIcouldnotimagineatthestart.

Learningmore about climate change, and theworsening impact of global warming,

mademewanttoretreattosafer,knownoutcomesinthefirstyearofmyresearch.In

thewordsofthequoteabove,learningtowidenmycircleofcompassionthroughthe

consciousapplicationofmindsight,allowedmetofirstrecognise,andthenintegratemy

ownintuition,intherealisationthatecoanxietycandissuadeusfromtakingappropriate,

personalaction.Thisinsightcamefromaconsciouschoicetoreframeandtransitionmy

practiceusingopenness,observationandobjectivity.

As stated at the start of this thesis, while the science continues to underline the

increasing risksposedbyclimatechange, rallying thepublic to thecausehasproved

increasingly difficult. Finding artistic alternatives to the despair, hopelessness and

consequentsenseofdisempowermentthatconfrontingtherealitiesofclimatechange

canprovokewasinitiallychallenging.Artistshavebeenactiveinexploringtheimpactof

climatechangethroughavarietyofaestheticstrategies inattemptstoaddressthese

challenges,andmobilisecomplexunderstandingsofthephenomenon,andIhavelearnt

agreatdealfromconsideringtheirwork,andfromreframingsomeoftheircontextual

concernswithinmyownpracticebasedresearch.

The response of this thesis has been to focus on a specific issue and location –

endangered Australian plants – and to experimentwith a range of different artistic

approaches,filteredthroughthelensofbiophiliaandbeauty.Theexperimentalartwork

196AlbertEinstein,1950,citedinDanielSiegel,Mindsight,(Brunswick,Victoria:ScribePublications,2015),255.

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produced,builds anddemonstrates abridgebetweenbotanical science, endangered

plant species, and art, in relation to climate change. First, I presented a different

perspectiveontheapplieduseofartasamodeofenquiryintoclimatechange,through

creativeagencyandadvocacyonthefocusedthemeofendangeredAustralianplants.

Second,throughmyresearchIexploredandactivelyassessedalternativemethodsfor

making and reconceptualising static drawings into moving images, as a strategy to

engage artistically andpositivelywith thenegative ecopsychology and ecoanxiety of

climatechange.

Third,newlyinitiated,collaborativeprojectswithnon-artspartnerswerepursuedand

deployedtoenhanceaudience’sperceptionandengagementthroughtheapplicationof

drawings. In parallel to this, conventional international and national exhibitions,

publicationsandworkshopsforthepublicwerealsorealisedasadditionalcontributions

toknowledgewithindifferentcommunities.

Fourth, the research has resulted in a document which has explored a hopeful

reconnectionwithnature,throughapplyingandembracinganaestheticofbeautyand

meditativemindfulness. A Transmedia Art method was utilised to enhance broader

communityunderstandingofEcoArt,usingamindful,practicebasedresearchprocess.

A mindful relationship with plants, explored through drawing, can enhance our

perceptionandsenseofconnectiontonature:

Drawingchangesourrelationshiptoaplace.Weseeitmore.Weenterintoitmorefully.Westarttoseemorebeauty,morevalueinthespacesweencounter,anddevelopadeeperintimacyandfamiliaritywiththem.Oncethishappens,it’smuchharder to treat themcarelessly, inconsiderately–becausewecome to feel forthem,wecometocare.Throughthemindfulnessofdrawing,wediscoveroneofthemostprofoundaspectsofmindfulness–thatinourawareness,anaturalsenseofsympathyandempathyarisesforthethingsweencounter.Thesemaybethingsof thenaturalworld,but theymayalsobeotherpeople,ourowndrawings,oreven ourselves. Out of mindfulness, kindness can arise, concern and caring,compassionandunderstanding.Withoursenseofconnectiontotheworldaroundusaffirmed,wenolongertreadblindlythroughit;wefeelmoreinclinedtotreatthingsandourselveswithloving-kindness.197

197WendyAnnGreenhalgh,MindfulnessandtheArtofDrawing:ACreativePathtoAwareness(Brighton:LeapingHarePress,2017),99.

142

As implied in the CLIMARTE quote below, through collaboration with others, and

extendingpastourownindividualpractice,theartsmoregenerallycanalsobeacatalyst

forchangeinourcollectiveconscience:

Throughouthistorytheartshaveplayedamajorroleinrecordingandreflectingthestateofhumansocietyanditsrelationshipwiththenaturalworld.Indeed,forsomehistoricalperiodsitisonlythroughtheartsthatwehavebeenabletolearnaboutourpast.Butsometimeswehavealsoneededtheartstobeacatalystforchange,acalltoaction,aprickingofhumanity’scollectiveconscience.Webelievethat now is one of those times…It is time for us to come together, asrepresentativesofallthatiscreative, imaginativeandhopeful inhumanity. It istimeforustoengagewithourcommunitiesandourleaders,ourpeersandouraudiences.Itistimetoletthemknowthatwewillactandthatweexpectthemtoactonthisclearandpresentdangertohumanity,andtothewondrousworldweinhabit.Itistimetohaveourvoicesheardonclimatechange.198

OverthelastthreeyearsIhaveobservedmyworktransitioninginmoreauthentic,and

notalwayseasyways.Foreverysuccessfultestdrawing,thereweremanyotherswhich

didnoteffectivelyrealisewhatIhopedtoshareaboutmyloveforthebeautywecan

findinnature.Thisaccommodationoftherealityversustheimageofbeinganartist,is

animportantpartofpracticebasedartresearch.LikeAgnesMartin,Istronglybelieve

that “thework” of honest artistic self-expression requires reflection, consistent and

consciouseffort,andanintegrationofthemindwiththehands,asimpliedbytheimage

in the final Figure 54. Additionally, synthesising mindful perspectives into my work

drawing endangered plants, allowedme to “…’slow down’ reasoning and create an

opportunity to arouse a slightly different awareness of the problems and situations

mobilizingus…”199Throughthisresearch,myowncircleofcompassionhasbroadened

and deepened, and I feel that I have become a part of a community of like-minded

people,whocareasIdo,andwhobelievethatourcollectivefuture,andtheplanetwe

liveon,matters.

198CLIMARTE:ARTSFORASAFECLIMATE,“About,”lastmodified2017,http://climarte.org/about/199Stengers,citedinJenniferGabrysandKathrynYusoff,“Arts,SciencesandClimateChange:Practices,andPoliticsattheThreshold,”ScienceasCulture,Routledge,Vol21No.1,1-24,(2012):2.doi:10.1080/09505431.2010.550139

143

Figure54.EmmaRobertson,globesfromArtandNature:AntidotestoAnxiety,2017.Sizesvarious.

Thereisastrongconnectionbetweenthedesireforsurvivalandtheartofapeopleanda time.Wehavea task inhand.Culture in thedevelopedwesternworldhasalwayspositioned itself indistinction tonature:nowwehave todiscoverournaturewithinnature…Havingdoneallofthis,mygreatestresponsibilityistomakeworkinthemostdirectwaythatIcan,andinterpretthistimeandplaceinawaythatmakespeoplemoreawareofthemselvesandit.200

200AntonyGormley,“ArtintheTimeofGlobalWarming,”inLongHorizons:AnExplorationofArt+ClimateChange,BritishCouncil,lastmodified,andlaunched,February15,2010,14-16.

144

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159

AppendixA:TwoWorkshops

AspartofTheBigAnxietyFestivalIdeveloped,wroteandtaughttwoworkshopshosted

bytheRoyalBotanicGardenSydney,whichwereonatthesametimeasmyArtand

Nature:AntidotestoAnxietyexhibitionattheFisherLibrary,SydneyUniversity.Iama

ScientiaEducationFellowatUNSW,andtheworkshopswerefundedbyagrantfromthe

ScientiaEducationAcademyatUNSW,sotheywereofferedfreetothepublic.Asthese

werepartofmyacademicwork,Iconductedevaluationsfor:

DrawingfortheMindonSunday8October2017-

Providingawrittenevaluationwasvoluntary,andthe19feedbackstatementsreceived

from19participantswere100%positiveintheiranonymousresponses,including:

“Thankyoufromthebottomofmyheart forallowingmethisopportunity–suchan

accessibleandbeautifulopportunitytofreemymind.”“Excellent.”“Ifeelinspired…”

MakingwithMindfulnessonSunday22October2017-

Providingawrittenevaluationwasvoluntary,andthe19feedbackstatementsreceived

from19participantswere100%positiveintheiranonymousresponses,including:

“FANTASTIC!Yourpresentationandcontentwereexcellent.”“Ilovedthisworkshop.”

“Incrediblyengagingworkshop…”“Extremelycalming…”“Brilliantworkshop.Emma’s

teachingstylewasinspirationalandalsocalming.”

160

AppendixB:ArtworkPresentedforExamination

EmmaRobertson,TheAdjacentPossible,2017.Mixedmedia,120x120cm.(Wholeimage,top,anddetailview,below).

161

EmmaRobertson,MaterialTraces,2017.Mixedmedia,2x40cmdiameter.

162

EmmaRobertson,TheLightofMemory,2017.Mixedmedia,seriesofthree,each56x76cm.

EmmaRobertson,WhatRemains,2017.Mixedmedia,2x40cmdiameter.

163

EmmaRobertson,LivingFossils,2017.Mixedmedia,200x200cm,inthebackground.EmmaRobertson,DeepEcology,2017.Mixedmedia,3x40cm,intheforeground.

MICROGRAPHIA-https://vimeo.com/222003403

DEPOSITIONLINES-https://vimeo.com/222012367

EmmaRobertsonandMargaretMcHugh,DepositionLines,2017.Film.EmmaRobertsonandMargaretMcHugh,Micrographia,2017.Film.

164

EmmaRobertson,NaturalHistories,2017.Mixedmedia,dimensionsvarious.

EmmaRobertson,NaturalHistories,2017,detail.Mixedmedia,dimensionsvarious.PhotographbyIanHobbs.

165

EmmaRobertson,LateFragment,2017.Mixedmedia,42x96cm.

166

EmmaRobertson,DeepEcology,2017.Mixedmedia,3x40cmdiameter,overallinstallationdimensionsvarious.

EmmaRobertson,Family,2017.Mixedmedia,variousdiameters,15-30cm.(ThefilmMicrographia,2017,isshowninthebackground).

167

EmmaRobertson,ExhibitionOverview,2017.PhotographbyIanHobbs.



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