Where the Light Falls

My cyanotype print Where the Light Falls was created following an artist residency in the Mornington Peninsula in Victoria where I responded to the threatened Coastal Moonah Woodland. Moonah trees (Melaleuca lanceolate) are characterised by their sinuous trunks and intertwined branches. Walking under the Moonahs, I became aware of the multitude of species which constitute a woodland community, much of which has been cleared or is highly fragmented.
My photographs translated into cyanotype prints exploring interconnections between the human and more than human worlds. I experimented with selective print bleaching on kozo paper, using the fragility and strength of handmade paper as a metaphor for resilience.
The paper is soft, the landscape takes on a dreamy atmosphere illuminated by golden light where awe and imminent danger coexist. As philosopher Gaston Bachelard wrote in his book The Poetics of Space “a tree is designed for grandeur…by magnifying everything that surrounds it”.