Under~Stories
Solo Exhibition
17 July Grainger Gallery

Photography by Brenton McGeachie

As often as I can I begin my day walking in the Isaacs Ridge Nature Reserve.
Invariably I am treated to a chorus of birdsong and glimpses of native animals, reminding me of the complex, interconnected world I share. On top of the ridge I meet the sky and am treated to a panoramic view of the hills encircling the ACT.
This nature reserve, situated on Ngunnawal Country, is a remnant of the vast Box Gum Grassy Woodland ecosystem which prior to white settlement spread across south eastern Australia. Walking along the paths, I see evidence of shifting human interaction with the reserve in the form of disused fencing, stands of Radiata pine, a melange of understorey weeds and native plants and active and abandoned quarries.
Under-Stories builds on an earlier exhibition I held at Wagga Wagga Art Gallery in 2023 to include these histories within in the Box Gum Grassy Woodlands of our region. Paintings depict elusive woodland birds and the trees they are inhabit alluding to a complex, fragile biodiversity. The co-existence of alternate past and present understandings of woodlands is the subject of a series of paintings where understorey woodland plants have been re-ascribed their Wiradjuri name.
I have juxtaposed native plants with weeds in drawings which I then used to construct digitally printed wallpaper and fabrics. These are incorporated into two installations that speak to the impacts of European settlement on these woodlands.