Recently I participated in the Displaced Flora master class at the Noosa Regional Gallery. Conducted by artist Donna Davis and botanist Professor Darren Cray, it bought together two of my passions – ecology and art.
Donna and Darren asked six artists to respond creatively to a scientific project that translocated of tropical plants from their mountain-top homes in the rainforest in Queensland Australia to botanical gardens in very different climatic regions in NSW Victoria and the Australian Capital Territory. The project is a forward-thinking rescue mission to save a number of plant species from climate change induced extinction.
The Scientist speaks
This is how Darren explains the Tropical Mountain Plant Science Project
“Many species of plants of Australia’s tropical mountaintops are found nowhere else on Earth, and are threatened by climate change – urgent precautionary conservation action is required. Conservation in their natural habitat (in-situ) is untenable for these species as climate change is rapidly eliminating this habitat. Therefore the primary aim of this project is to build a viable, secure ex-situ conservation ‘reserve’ in well managed Botanic Garden collections.”
Prof. Darren Crayn, Director, Australian Tropical Herbarium1
The Artists’ Responses
As artist-in-residence for the project from 2019-2022, Donna gathered images and data to creatively document the mission, whilst also giving voice to the plight of vulnerable mountain-top flora in the Wet Tropics, in North Queensland.
She built on this work, with three of her pieces exhibited at Noosa Regional Gallery as part of the EXPERIMENTA LIFE FORMS : INTERNATIONAL TRIENNIAL OF MEDIA ART Touring Exhibition.
I was particularly moved by her little plant propelling itself on its roots around the Queensland State Archives.
experimenta.org/artworks/transplant/
Inspired, with our own little plant species transparencies, we set to work, producing a multitude of responses: transparencies used as flipbooks to tell a story; Plants using wings to relocate; seeds flying to the mountains. Plants marching down mountains; plants growing adaptive pipe-like roots or snorkels. There was heaps of creative talent in the room.
My Response
My response was to capture the elements of the story. I chose materials quickly then attached meaning to them. Here’s the conceptual material, not yet a finished work. The red circle is a stoma/sun/red earth, the plant’s roots represent a human brain. I created the word storyboard at the top of this page after the workshop.
Now I’ve dug out an almost forgotten 10×10 inch album with plastic sleeves. I’m guessing it was on sale because the cover looks a bit tacky, but I love the fact that is says “Our Journey,” references the whole world, and has cork from a tree as the background print. Here’s the basis for a little project when the creative ideas start to come together on translocation and climate change.
ART by Jude Tulloch 
Leave a comment