The willow and poplar have become embedded in my work as ‘guardians of place’, carrying deep meanings connected to childhood spaces where formative experiences of landscape took hold; those which reinforce the power of memory and as place linked to ones origin.
Guardians of place merges memories as celebratory fragments of place; blending my Giverny garden experience where the willows and poplars became guardians, echoing powerful memories of my childhood rural property and garden, in central Western NSW. Such a place no longer exists after being destroyed by fire. These images, both in memory and print, become vessels which contain the seeds from where creative ideas germinate and carry narratives of loss, strength, renewal, resilience and nurture; becoming a journal of who I am and where I come from.
To impart strength of subject, working with more immediate print transfer processes on found timber seemed appropriate; while river stones served as barens and marking tools. This suite is driven by the integrity of such lived experiences and an authentic connection to their origin and my own.