2022
Mixed media incorporating a range of upcycled materials combined with contemporary machine embroidery.
This artwork has a sleeve stitched onto the back for hanging purposes, and can be hung using a gallery-style hanging system, or with two screws in the wall. Securing it to custom canvas stretcher is another hanging option.
Dimensions 115 x 110 cm
Artist Statement
The ancient soil of the West Australian wheatbelt stretches into the distance on a rust-dyed mosquito net. Since the 1920s industrial agriculture, using synthetic fertilisers, pesticides, and herbicides, has been mining our soil of nutrients, simultaneously killing the ecosystem that sustains it. Monocropping and monograzing produce increased yields while causing long-term damage to deep root-systems and waterways from erosion and soil compaction.
Focusing on soil health, regenerative agriculture is a conservation and rehabilitation approach to farming. As the climate changes, regenerative principles of increased soil fertility, water retention, biodiversity, and soil carbon sequestration are becoming vital for the wheatbelt. Change is difficult and costly, but the result will be more nutritious food for us and long-term economic benefits for farmers. As voters and consumers, we have the power to influence and support the transition by demanding soil security legislation and actively requesting food products from regenerative farmers.
Starting the Cycle: from Dead Dirt to Living Soil
First Prize, Sculpture/Textiles Award, South Perth Emerging Artist Prize 2022, South Perth, WA
Special Recognition Award, Healing Power of Art: Resilience 2022, Virtual Exhibition, HPAA an initiative of Manhatten Arts International, NYC, USA
Finalist, Northern Beaches Environmental Art & Design Prize 2022, Manley, NSW