5 panels x 80 x 60 x 9 cm
Earthenware paper clay, glaze, acrylic paint, vinyl-backed glass, Perspex
Permanent installation, Territory Wildlife Park, Berry Springs NT

Place a leaf in a creek and watch it float downstream. See it be guided by a mesmerising push and pull. Will it join a gathering at a quiet edge, or find its swift water path and make a dash for the next big thing?

Here I sit in a monsoon vine forest, not far from the smooth and dwindling flow of this groundwater-fed spring. We’ve not had much rain this last wet season and the earth struggles to provide water for the communities and environments dependent on its flow. It is a magnificently rich and tall forest gracing this small patch of the Territory Wildlife Park. As an Artist-in-the-Park I have the joy and privilege of spending time in this warm enveloping space. I chat to the people visiting from afar admiring their commitment to exploring this wild place in the hottest of seasons, when moisture fills the air, but not always the ground. 

Groundwater is the unseen hero of the Top End. It is to this force of nature that I dedicate my time; by striving to make something that makes people feel the significance of this place. To tell a story that enriches their soul if only for a short while.

Each of these hundreds of pieces is crafted individually by hand with a flow in mind. A curve, an attitude of calm beauty; thin and fragile, until exposed to a searing heat that strengthens their resolve to tell the story of a flow. Of the connection between plant, water and earth.