Artist’s Statement.
Concentric Circles Connecting Nature and Art.
In a constantly changing world, as a bulging population, living in the technological age, we more and more live in urbanized spaces, surrounded by devices, concrete and highways. We are further away from nature than we have ever been. What is this doing to our mental health as a species?
How do we get ‘back to nature’ in this urbanized context? How do we reconnect to the natural world and disconnect from the man-made? I have given this some thought, as a visual artist, along the lines or shall I say the circles, of the Buddhist practice of loving kindness for all beings, life forms and eco systems.
What is the nature closest to me in my city life? The pot plant on my kitchen table, the plants on my balcony, the tree in my Hinterhof. Then there are the communal nature spaces in the city: squares, parks and gardens, even small city forests.
The nature circle extends to the Stadtrand, the city’s edge. Here in Berlin, for a few summer seasons, I found myself working at Strandbad Tegel as an artist and yoga teacher. Everyday I walked through the forest to get to the lake, everyday a Mindful reconnection with nature, walking along the forest floor. Here I began to appreciate the importance of access to green spaces in the city.
The circle extends concentrically beyond the city’s edge to the region, the nation, and the continent, on which we live, exploring its mountain ranges, seaside towns, forests, lakes and waterways. For adventurers, explorers and those both curious and restless at heart, exploration leads to even further destinations and all the spectacular nature that this earth has to offer us.
My inspiration as a visual artist living in the city comes from these concentric circles in nature. I connect them through my mindful art practice, from the pot plant on my kitchen table, to my local park, to my excursion to the lakes at the edge of town, to my explorations further afield, in Germany, in Europe and all the way back to my home town of Melbourne and all the luscious nature in between.
As a city dweller, my most tangible connection to another animal species is with cats, many with whom I have shared my home, my travels, my life, so they also feature a lot in the natural environments that I paint.
By mindful art practice, I mean giving the same focus, attention, respect and gratitude to every atom of nature that I find, draw and paint throughout these concentric circles from the Berlin pot plant to the jungles of Bali, to the Victorian outback.
