FLOATING HEARTS Nymphaea Lily Lake

Presented in the form of a sculptural Artist Book, my hand rolled intaglio etchings lay parallel alongside one another, modern day manuscripts documenting the beauty of the Nymphaea Lily Lake in Melbourne’s Botanical Gardens. It is a place I regularly visit, a haven of floating hearts.
I have inscribed in graphite on each scroll names of the water lily varieties planted within the lake, with this information obtained from the Garden’s Librarian. Scrolls are secured with paper twine, and housed in an archival custom-made solander box, silver embossed on front and inside covers. One scroll includes a small graphite drawing drawn in situ by the lake. Parts of the Garden’s lake systems are remnants of a natural water system that pre-dates European settlement. In 1906 The Nymphaea Lake had its genesis in the final phase of William Guilfoyle’s thirty-five year tenure as Director of the Melbourne Botanical Gardens.