Fundamentally I am a queer alchemist, I (mis)use photographic chemistry in its most elemental forms to activate an alchemy within; one of sight and re-seeing. Combining photographic methodology and chemistry to explore deep listening or Dadirri - as defined by Dr Miriam-Rose Ungunmerr-Baumann - Ghost of a Plant is both a personal metaphor for regeneration in the wake of the 2019-20 Australian bushfires, and a response to the unique opportunity the Australian landscape offers in experiencing the sublime.
Abstracted, shifting, disintegrating landscapes imbued with archival silver chemicals erupt with colour when exposed to light, eventually shifting to an earthy, ruddy brown. In the aftermath of disintegration, the botanical transfers remain stable and unchanged. As in life, nature outlives even our archival efforts against time. Each of these unique photo-sculptures speaks to my own lived experiences of the photographic, the power it holds over the perceptual and its ability to reveal truths.
Ghost of a Plant was originally created in Naarm on Wurundjeri land of the Eastern Kulin Nation.
Large scale ephemeral install - No Space, Know Space (2021) [click for install video]
Unique contact botanical transfer with Eucalyptus globulus (blue gum), Acacia cognata (river wattle) and silver nitrate [8x10” silk satin diptych, 2021]
Digital reproduction, medium scale install, Bandung Photography Triennale (2022)
Unique contact botanical transfer with Nephrolepis exaltata (Boston fern) and silver nitrate [5x7" & 4x5" silk satin diptych, 2023]
Small scale ephemeral install: If You Surrender - Tiger Strikes Asteroid (2023)
Unique contact botanical transfer with Eucalyptus globulus leaves (blue gum) and silver nitrate [8x10” silk satin diptych, 2021]