Australian - European ‘landscape’
painting has dominantly displayed the heroic-pioneering type of
relationship
between Australia's people and the land ::: through
this series I was interested in
drawing from these modes of representation to weave these perspectives
with
differing views ::: Australian Aboriginal, European colonial and
current day
perceptions of landscape differ significantly ::: this work was
inspired by the
idea of 'real estate' and ownership of the land ::: to what extent can
the land
really be possessed ::: Australia, was the land of so called ‘Terra
Nullius’, because I suppose it was easier to start from a 'clean
slate' instead of making an attempt to integrate with the existing
culture :::
The 'pioneers' and the colonists in Australia, seemed to develop a type
of
attitude towards the land ::: which sought to tame the land ::: and
well, also
develop a place reminiscent of their origin ::: the paintings of that
era
display a very 'British' Australian landscape ::: a ‘paint by numbers’
technique ::: a natural reaction apparently, for the
colonists who found themselves in a very foreign land ::: hence
many things 'Australian' have names derivative of
other places, for
example the Australian flora - 'red apple tree' was a name given for
the
entirely unique and un-like apple tree, the angophora. The painting of the colonial era
displays an attempt to
control nature, an anxious attempt to understand the world they found
themselves in ::: mapping, botanical studies ::: understanding and
discovering
every inch ::: to reveal, to turn
inside-out, to examine ::: to touch everything and to leave little left.