Entanglement
Entanglement continues a long engagement with rural life, agricultural landscapes and the rhythms of seasons, weather and the elements. Informed by feminist ecologist and philosopher Donna J. Haraway’s ideas of entanglement, the exhibition considers landscape not as something separate from us, or simply a backdrop to human activity, but as a living network in which humans, animals, plants, soil, climate and the unseen organisms beneath our feet are continually connected.
I begin with the farm as my point of departure: walking paddocks, observing soil, crops, grasses, fences and seasonal change, and considering how farming practices both shape and are shaped by the land. My attention moves fluidly across scale, from the complex life of healthy soil to the broad geometry of paddocks and the shifting surfaces of pasture. I imagine rich grasslands as quilts, blankets, tapestries and carpets: protective living surfaces woven through natural processes, human care and time.
My drawings bring these different scales and viewpoints together. Paddock boundaries, tree lines, grasses and traces of microscopic life overlap and interweave, dissolve and re-emerge, creating landscapes that are simultaneously observed and imagined. Rather than presenting a single fixed view, I allow multiple perspectives to coexist, reflecting the complexity, interdependence and reciprocity of living systems.
The materiality of the drawings is central to this process. Traditional media including pastel, graphite, charcoal and coloured pencil are combined with the less conventional processes of scorching and burning the paper with heated pokers for which I am known. Marks are erased, layered, rubbed, washed and weathered, allowing the surface to register both control and chance. Burning introduces fire as an active collaborator, recalling the elemental forces that continually transform rural landscapes.
For me, drawing becomes a way of being within nature rather than looking at it from a distance. The surface of the paper becomes a site where observation, memory, material and process converge. Entanglement reflects on the delicate relationships that sustain cultivated land, acknowledging both its resilience and vulnerability, and the shared responsibilities through which human and more-than-human life shape its future. Works can be viewed and purchased from CIVIC ART BUREAU Canberra ACT
I begin with the farm as my point of departure: walking paddocks, observing soil, crops, grasses, fences and seasonal change, and considering how farming practices both shape and are shaped by the land. My attention moves fluidly across scale, from the complex life of healthy soil to the broad geometry of paddocks and the shifting surfaces of pasture. I imagine rich grasslands as quilts, blankets, tapestries and carpets: protective living surfaces woven through natural processes, human care and time.
My drawings bring these different scales and viewpoints together. Paddock boundaries, tree lines, grasses and traces of microscopic life overlap and interweave, dissolve and re-emerge, creating landscapes that are simultaneously observed and imagined. Rather than presenting a single fixed view, I allow multiple perspectives to coexist, reflecting the complexity, interdependence and reciprocity of living systems.
The materiality of the drawings is central to this process. Traditional media including pastel, graphite, charcoal and coloured pencil are combined with the less conventional processes of scorching and burning the paper with heated pokers for which I am known. Marks are erased, layered, rubbed, washed and weathered, allowing the surface to register both control and chance. Burning introduces fire as an active collaborator, recalling the elemental forces that continually transform rural landscapes.
For me, drawing becomes a way of being within nature rather than looking at it from a distance. The surface of the paper becomes a site where observation, memory, material and process converge. Entanglement reflects on the delicate relationships that sustain cultivated land, acknowledging both its resilience and vulnerability, and the shared responsibilities through which human and more-than-human life shape its future. Works can be viewed and purchased from CIVIC ART BUREAU Canberra ACT
Paddock Quilts, 2026
scorch marks, pencil, charcoal, pastel, graphite, acrylic, pokerwork on 640gsm Arche, H 152 X 101 cm |
Earth Carpet, 2026
scorch marks, pencil, charcoal, pastel, graphite, acrylic, pokerwork on 640gsm Arche, H 152 X 101 cm |
Paddock Edges, 2026
soot, charcoal, pastel, acrylic, on 640gsm Arche, on birch panel H 30 X W 30 cm |
Paddock Tapestry, 2026
soot, charcoal, graphite, pastel, on 640gsm Arche, on birch panel H 30 X W 30 cm |
Grass Matrix, 2026
soot, charcoal, graphite, acrylic, on 640gsm Arche, on birch panel H 30 X W 30 cm |
Pasture, 2026
soot, charcoal, pastel, graphite, on 640gsm Arche, on birch panel H 30 X W 30 cm |
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Paddock Patchwork, 2026
acrylic, graphite, pastel, scorch marks, on 640gsm Arche, on birch panel H 50 X W 50 cm |
In Fallow, 2026
soot, charcoal, graphite, acrylic, scorch marks, on 640gsm Arche, on birch panel H 50 X W 50 cm |
Cinder Hill, 2026
acrylic, graphite, charcoal, pastel, scorch marks, on 640gsm Arche, on birch panel H 50 X W 50 cm |
Dry Pasture, 2026
acrylic, graphite, charcoal, scorch marks, on 640gsm Arche, on birch panel H 50 X W 50 cm |
Towards Winter, 2026
soot, pokerwork, charcoal, graphite, acrylic, on 640gsm Arche, on birch panel H 45 X W 30 cm |
Winter Paddock, 2026
soot, pokerwork, pastel, charcoal, acrylic, on 640gsm Arche, on birch panel H 45 X W 30 cm |
Summer Paddock, 2026
soot, pokerwork, charcoal, acrylic, on 640gsm Arche, on birch panel H 45 X W 30 cm |
Farm Land, 2026
soot, pokerwork, charcoal, acrylic, on 640gsm Arche, on birch panel H 45 X W 30 cm |
Paddock Pelmet, 2026
acrylic, charcoal, pencil, pokerwork, on 640gsm Arche, on birch panel H 60 X W 60 cm |
Before Rain, 2026
acrylic, charcoal, pastel, gouache, scorch-marks, on 640gsm Arche, on birch panel H 60 X W 60 cm |
Grass Patchwork, 2026
acrylic, charcoal, pencil, scorch marks, on 640gsm Arche, on birch panel H 60 X W 60 cm |
Full Moon, 2026
acrylic, pastel, graphite, scorch marks, on 640gsm Arche on birch panel H 60 X W 60 cm |