EXHIBITION DECEMBER 3RD, 4TH, 5TH AT THE BRISBANE BOTANIC GARDENS, MT COOT-THA

Y O U   A R E   M O S T   W E L C O M E  T O   A T T E N D   T H I S   

U P C O M I N G   E V E N T  ! ! !

The residency is drawing to a close with the end of the year fast approaching ... this exhibition will take place next week over 3 days on the grounds of the Botanic Gardens at the Herbarium which is located just 30 metres on from the Administration building (where the Library is to be found).  See the invitation below!

The space is shared with the Annual Botanical Artist's Society of Qld's Botanica exhibition.... open daily from 10 am till 4 pm  ( 3pm on the Sunday!)

I will post the works from the show after it closes at the Website. All works will be for sale, along with a 68 page book (21 x 23 cm) I have produced on the  Homage to the Seed Project ($30)  and  several Postcard designs which will be available as well. For the wonderful bloggers who already asked if there would be a book available with journal images... this does contain 12 pages from my journal, a section on paintings, other visuals from the seed lab and so on. I have included pages on events from the year with a double page spread on the postcards from the blogosphere Mail-Art exhibition.

If you have any enquiries don't hesitate to email or  leave a comment which comes through my email anyway! I have not set up paypal... but once the show is concluded I can certainly address that if needs be.

book on the residency project

Unruly ecologies: Biodiversity and art

Taking place in Perth, November 26 to 28 - A Symposium on Biodiverisity and Art.

NB: just noticed 25.1.2013... the images are no longer available here. 



Last week I was contacted by Perdita Phillips from the University of Western Australia's research centre:

SymbioticA - Centre of Excellence in Biological Arts

SymbioticA is an artistic laboratory dedicated to the research, learning, critique and hands-on engagement with the life sciences. 

Under the direction of Oron Catts, SymbioticA’s emphasis is on experiential practice. SymbioticA facilitates a thriving program of residencies, research, academic courses,exhibitions, symposiums, seminars and workshops. Researchers and students from all disciplines work on individual projects or in interdisciplinary teams to explore the shifting relations and perceptions of life.

As a research centre within the School of Anatomy and Human Biology at The University of Western Australia, SymbioticA enables direct and visceral engagement with scientific techniques. Crossing the disciplines of art and the life sciences, SymbioticA encourages better understanding and articulation of cultural ideas around scientific knowledge and informed critique of the ethical and cultural issues of life manipulation.  

SymbioticA is a recipient of the inaugural Golden Nica in Hybrid Arts at Prix Ars Electronica.

Perdita Phillips wrote that she was

 

         "putting together an online survey of art relating to biodiversity in preparation for a symposium Unruly ecologies: biodiversity and art that will be happening 26-28  November this year in Perth (see http://symbiotica-adaptation.com/?page_id=197 for details).  I would like to include your work in our online survey of artworks (here http://symbiotica-adaptation.com/?cat=4). Your seed works are great examples of the blending of art and science."

I have been reading about Western Australia quite a bit this year, given the region south of Perth is one of the Biodiversity hotspots in the world. I have referred often to a book called 'Australian Seeds' which is focused on species from Western Australia. 

For anyone interested in  visiting the Biodiversity Art online showcase click here. There are 31 entries on broad ranging themes and approaches on this site to date. Im very sorry to not be free to attend the symposium at the end of November but will look forward to reading more on the speakers and topics through this website.

Artwork and text provided for inclusion on the showcase:

SOPHIE MUNNS: HOMAGE TO THE SEED

Homage to the Seed is the title of a year-long project conducted at Brisbane Botanic Gardens as 2010 Artist-in-Residence. This project was born of a collaboration with the on-site ‘Seeds for Life’ Seed Lab (set up by Kew Garden’s Millennium Seed Bank Project) with the underlying objective of spurring on public awareness  of the critical role of seeds and the human impact on global plant heritage. The seed lab was central to the project – a site of research, crucial dialogue with staff and volunteers, journal and weblog documentation.

To bring this somewhat obscure work to the public’s eye a strong accent on relational aesthetics practice was facilitated through a series of events which supported the key undertaking ‘to champion the seed’ to audiences unfamiliar with the extraordinary diversity and particular vulnerabilities of the world’s seed heritage . In electing to pursue this multi-layered approach to the ‘dispersal’ of information the material provided covered all bases… from simple to complex …encouraging both casual and formal engagement.  The weblog further boosted public engagement by traversing a broad spectrum of ideas around seeds, people, conservation, biodiversity, science and art.

The fact that the project coincided with the 2010 UN International Year of Biodiversity was an added catalyst which has drawn a new audience to consider our region’s plant biodiversity, local indigenous plants, and the vital relationships between the population, economy, land and plants.  Whilst researching the abundant species of Queensland rainforest fruits early this year the journal sketches and notations of cross-sections of the fruit’s seed capsules became the visual means for the artist to represent this manifest regional plant variation. Simultaneously literal and symbolic, they seemingly refer to ancient and perrennial symbolic languages across culture and time, yet allow for a contemporary imagining on biological diversity. This deliberation on biodiversity through time – past, present and future – and humanities’ place in all of that is the concern of the artist in this year of the Homage to the Seed residency.

Sophie Munns has been dedicated to the visual arts for over 3 decades — maintaining a professional art practice, working as a teacher and facilitator, and managing an arts related business.

Homage to the Seed Blog:  sophiemunns2010.blogspot.com
Website: sophiemunns.weebly.com

Biodiversity is life, Biodiversity is our life

If you visit the website of the United Nations International year of Biodiversity you will find excellent resources available to learn more precisely:

• The important role biodiversity plays in our lives and what is happening to it.
• What people are doing around the world to combat biodiversity loss
• How people are celebrating the International Year of Biodiversity
• Some of the resources available to you in your celebrations

Read here for that.

If you go to this page of the website here you can see Homage to the Seed blog is listed along with a host of other blogs including one based in Byron Bay...not far from Brisbane where this blog is based.

Blogs from around the world

Africa (English) Lights of Africa - A Media Expedition Through Africa By Haroldo Castro, an award-winning video director and producer, a photographer, a journalist and a communications strategist, and Mikael Castro, an anthropologist, communicator, and ecotourism-expert, passionate for conservation and travel.

Africa (português) Viajologia - Viajando com Haroldo Castro Haroldo Castro possui três paixões: contar estórias com fotos e crônicas, estar na natureza e viajar intensamente.

Australia (English) homage to the seed – generator of life By Sophie Munns.

Australia (English) It’s our ethical duty to stop our destruction of species. – BIODIVERSITY IS OUR RESPONSIBILITY

Autralia (English) Tangle of Life By Mary Gardner, a biologist and a writer, she teaches at a local community college in Byron Bay, Australia. This blog is to help raise awareness about concepts and issues in biodiversity. The blog uses social media and online discussions in getting the message out about the wealth of the world in the kingdoms of life. The blog features introductory articles, photos and links to showcase each kingdom. Also, Ebooks, with over 80 stories and over 300 photos, help readers glimpse biodiversity as a whole. .

Canary Islands (español) Desarrollo rural lanzarote Blog Por el desarrollo sostenible de los pueblos

Kiribati and Phoenix Islands Blog (English) Blog written by the New England Aquarium

Spain (español) Les ciències en el broch By Ignasi Nebort & Pilar Safont

Sri Lanka (English) Window to Nature – The Weekly Environmental Diary by Malaka Rodrigo

Thailand (English) Eco Question - Green Space for Thinking

United Kingdom (English) Natures Whispers By Jasmine

USA (English) Abstract City Blog - NYTimes.com By Christoph Niemann

USA (English) The WILD Foundation - "Talking" Wild

The i2P Amazon Expedition The i2P Amazon Expedition team is assembling to depart for Brazil. There are 108 schools in six countries and a total of 15,266 students registered to follow the expedition!

The Edmonton and Area Land Trust A conservancy focused on protecting natural areas and landscapes in our boreal/parkland region, for their biodiversity, habitat, health, EGS, aesthetic and other values.

Obviously there's room for more if you know of a Blog that could be added!

Apologies for the space that can't be shifted below. Scroll down to continue to next post.
Thank you,
Sophie

slow circles of nature....

"Everything that slows us down and forces patience, everything that sets us back into the slow circles of nature, is a help. Gardening is an instrument of grace."

May Sarton

This quote was found at: Art Propelled Tumblr which is well worth a visit. Image below was also found at that site.

Botanical notes by Tor Archer

page from the Book of Broken Branches by Patti Roberts Pizzuto
also found at Art Propelled

Olak Hajek

found at Indigenous Dialogues

The image above can be traced to Lynn El/Una Odd at Flickr.

Karl Blossfeldt - Fractal Botanics