From Arnhem to Arnhem - Outstation Gallery, November 18-december17

In September 2010 I participated in an art residency in the township of Renkum, within the municipality of the City of Arnhem in the Netherlands. The name Arnhem means place of many eagles. On the other hand, Arnhem Land in Northern Australia was so named by Matthew Flinders after a vessel of the Dutch East India Company during his circumnavigation of Australia. The area named Arnhem Land by Flinders was in fact all that part of Australia north of Australia, including Darwin and Katherine (Evans, 1995).

The contrasts and similarities between these places became the foundation of my creative practice whilst in the Netherlands which are intrinsically connected, by history and name. This involved documenting the leaves and plants found in the forests surrounding the city of Arnhem using cyanotype processes then dying the prints with plant pigments sourced back in the NT. As my art practice is heavily entwined with the methodology of weaving, this was a way to engage with the plant life in foreign surrounds. In the past weaving and harvesting planrt materials along with the use of a myriad of basket making processes has allowed me to create a relationship with Northern Australia. The exhibition embodies the long history of exchange between the Netherlands and Northern Australia.