Join us for a day of deeper thinking developed by artist Caitlin Franzmann to accompany the Natural State exhibition. Programs delve into key issues explored in her work and the work of First Nations artists Libby Hayward and Dominique Chen included in Natural State.
1pm – 2.30pm Drawing Stories from Old Stones
Join artists Caitlin Franzmann and Dhana Merritt and landscape architect Christoph Pester in a multi-sensory event with petrified plants (plants that have transformed into stone over time).
For this event, Christoph will bring along a selection of his petrified plant collection and share how ancient stories of earth are revealed through their unique colours and cellular patterns. The conversation will continue into a petrified plant drawing session guided by Caitlin, whilst sipping on a ‘deep time’ refreshment created by Dhana. Through listening, observing, sharing, drawing and tasting, you will be invited to trace time and sense your own relationship to plants and fungi of the past and present.
Born in Chemnitz, Germany, Christoph Pester is a landscape architect living in Brisbane. From a young age, Christoph always had an interest in rocks and minerals. His home town Chemnitz is well known for a petrified forest from the permian era (290 Mio ya). After travelling to Australia with his wife in 2004, they decided to call this their new home. His passion for petrified plants has grown ever since and he has a large collection of permineralised plants from Queensland and other parts of Australia and also a workshop where he cuts and polishes them.
Dhana Merritt is an artist, naturopath, collaborator and curator based in Meanjin (Brisbane). Her research-driven practice is informed by vis medicatrix naturae – the healing power of nature. DM Teahouse, an ongoing interactive performative artwork delves into relational aesthetics and experience theories through plant-based events, centred around the act of drinking medicinal herbal tea.
NATURAL STATE WAS COMMISSIONED BY THE CONDENSERY | SOMERSET REGIONAL ART GALLERY. THIS PROJECT HAS BEEN ASSISTED BY THE AUSTRALIAN GOVERNMENT THROUGH THE AUSTRALIA COUNCIL FOR THE ARTS, IT’S ARTS FUNDING AND ADVISORY BODY.
IMAGE: CAITLIN FRANZMANN, rust (a way), 2022, Blackwood timber, mirror, petrified wood, rusting metal. Installation view, the condensery, 2022. Photo Filmertography.
