2019 Tatiara Art Prize Winner
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Louise FLAHERTY ​
(Adelaide, South Australia)
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Memorial for Forgotten Plants - Adelaide CBD
white ink on paper
162 x 148 (cm)
acquired by Tatiara District Council
Artist statement:
'Memorial for Forgotten Plants - Adelaide CBD' is part of a long-term project which involves researching the native flora across the many different suburbs and ecosystems of Adelaide. Drawn with white ink on black paper, this work reflects the loss and sadness of native plants from our suburban landscape, highlighting native plant conservation. In making the memorials, my process is often one of repetition; I draw each plant repeatedly, committing its details to memory. By sharing this practice with the wider community I hope that each intimate and creative encounter with a local plant species offers an opportunity to remember.
'Memorial for Forgotten Plants - Adelaide CBD' was created during an exhibition residency at the Mill, Adelaide. The original focus of the work was to investigate the remnant native vegetation of the Adelaide CBD, which I discovered includes four unique ecosystems. I narrowed my research by just looking at one of these ecosystems, which is where the Mill is situated: the Grey Box & SA Blue Gum Woodland, which consists of 86 plant species.
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