Incessant pruning generates prickly fruit

Incessant pruning generates prickly fruit, hand cut paper, ink, Perspex rods 2004

This paper-cut tree appears to be more of a stump, over worked, and fragile, almost lifeless. Beside the tree are two “fruits” made from the knife blades that have been inserted and stitched into a paper-cut sphere.

Prickly fruit blades and paper
The imagery relates to the development of Melbourne as a city. At the base of the 'tree' a narrative begins with imagery from historical documents, referencing the Batman Treaty and the and cultivation of land, subdivision and the construction of the skyscraper and, at it's outer most limbs, are images of cranes and construction equipment, suggesting that development will continue.
 
Incessant pruning generates prickly fruit, (detail) hand cut paper, ink, Perspex rods 2004
 Below is a re-hang of the work, configuring a three dimensional object onto a two dimensional space, offering the viewer a greater appreciation of the details, therefore allowing a better understanding of the narrative content.
Exhibited as part of “Urban Jam”, RMIT Project Space, Carlton, and Switchback Gallery, Morwell. October 2005.
Incessant pruning generates prickly fruit, hand cut paper, ink, created in 2004 reconfigured in 2005











An establishment for the diffusion of knowledge

2005 hanging installation, Hand cut paper, ink, thread and glass beads
Height of paper cuts 90 cm, width and depth variable













2004, Floor installation, Hand cut paper, ink, perspex rods, acetate

Made from an assortment of hand cut paper plants and trees grouped together to mimic the man made natural space of a garden, “An establishment for the diffusion of knowledge” presents the constructed natural landscape as a place where information can be obtained and our cultural identity contemplated.
“An establishment for the diffusion of knowledge” is a floor-based installation depicting a diorama of a constructed natural space, a garden. Made from a collection of hand cut paper plants and trees, the work explores the significance of a garden as a place where information can be obtained and our cultural identity contemplated. Imagery in the cutout detail of the leaves references the development of Melbourne as a city; together the trees will provide information about the cultural aspects of the grater landscape (or cityscape) it is located within, placing emphasis on the cultural and historical significance of such natural spaces.
In an urban landscape, the tree appears vulnerable and dispensable, its permanence is susceptible to the greater force of town planning, its significance seems so subtle that it is unnoticeable alongside the bold, attention grabbing slogans of contemporary culture. The installations dwarfed scale and ephemeral appearance parallels the vulnerability of the natural landscape, the handcrafted materials emphasise time, history and the details that can be found upon careful observation.

Making a place

Making a place 2004
Hand cut Paper, ink, acetate
Height 32 cm, width 225 cm, depth 205 cm

The Contours, bumps and crevices of the natural environment are deciding factors (influence the location, industry and social life of a township. As time passes, layers of human patterns are imprinted onto the landscape forming a narrative that frames the lives of the many people who have inhabited the space through history.
The making of a place maps the local landscape and the stories that have moulded it into the familiar surroundings we see today
there are evident parallels between the processes employed in paper cutting with developments of western society. The selective omission or inclusion of certain aspects of Australian life (both contemporary and historical) has been essential in the construction of Australia’s identity. Our cultural, economic and physical landscape is cut up, subdivided and shaped into an entity that suits our specific needs. Like a papercut its sustainability is questioned and inevitable decay is formidable.