“Worlds of Hidden Landscapes”

The littoral zone is where water and land metaphorically embrace.

Within the littoral, the actual and the imagined combine and hidden landscapes emerge.

Littoral zones are where water and land metaphorically embrace. My drawings source the urban littoral zone of the Brisbane River and are referential of similar urban littoral zones globally – areas which are so easily overlooked in our hurried city lives. I see inner city mangroves as gracious and steadfast symbols of nature’s perseverance.

I look in places where mangroves struggle to exist, as they compete with inner city roads and bridges, growing over the human altered riverbanks. Changing scale and combining images in new arrangements creates ambiguity and invites the viewer into a dialogue of interpretation and problem solving — the actual and the imagined entwine, combine, and hidden landscapes emerge.

I am fascinated by the magnitude of movement in a tiny ripple, the strength of purpose and survival instinct of the mangrove roots as they cling to the river’s edge, as if it concealed precious gems — an extraordinary manifestation of our planet’s primal life force in action,  even within the urban environment.