les contours du silence

This is the poetic name for a wonderful weblog from France by artist Fanny whose photographs often take my breath away - they also inspired a painting not so long ago! Correspondences last year with Fanny re use of photos  resulted in brief and very pleasant exchanges. Unfortunately my French is non-existant so I was deeply grateful, even if somewhat embarrased, for Fanny making all the effort to communicate in English.  




































































































... and perhaps you now see what it is so wonderful about fanny's way of seeing that so engaged me. Her life is situated in a small isolated village in the South west of France, near the Pyrenees - a life that appears to include a strong relationship to the rhythms of nature and the seasons - a life not quite so interrupted by dramatic changes in the ways people live. With camera in hand her frequent searches take in the tiny details of the world about her. I have given you a selection only of the images from nature - seeds, pods, things related to 'Homage to the seed' after all! Go back to the top and click on the highlighted link to go on your own journey to Fanny's world.
























This delightful excursion to France above is far removed from what has been been absorbing me these past few days. A stunning book which I will soon feature on this weblog - "Australian Seeds" edited by Sweedman and Merritt - explores the fact of Australia being the most arid vegetated continent. The book states "most of the western two-thirds of the continent has experienced 270 million years of uninterrupted terrestial life on predominantly old, flat, weathered, nutrient-deficient landscapes - providing conditions for the evolution of seed attributes that are globally unusual..." Thats just the beginning... interesting indeed!
To fully consider the story of seeds we are looking back over millions of years to the present time provoking much to wonder about for the future!

This easter will be quiet but a busy time in the studio. Interviews on the work of the Seed Lab with the people who are part of that are next to be written up....back to the studio for now!