The Forest That Sighs (2020)
Tissue paper, acrylic and mylar
The Forest That Sighs is a spiritual, emotional and physical response to our present ecosystem, exploring the intersection between materiality and temporality as a way of deeply listening to the world. Our ancestors had spiritual awareness and respect for nature and other beings, recognising our connection and interdependence. With a focus on opening us to the non-human world that we are part of, my aim is to explore where humans sit in relation to nature. These barely anthropomorphic forms seem rather oddly alien, are simultaneously familiar and foreign from the unconscious. They possess a primal vitality that speak of the future: handmade, organic, imperfect.
About the Artist
Joanne Makas lives on Bidjigal Country in Sydney’s East. She works across painting, drawing, installation and performance, to explore how we are connected to the world and what moves us in life. Joanne has a Master of Fine Art from National Art School, Sydney and was the managing director and program producer at STACKS Projects, 20152020. She has exhibited at Articulate project space, George Paton Gallery Melbourne, Artereal Gallery, Floating Goose Gallery Adelaide. Joanne has been an artist-inresidence at Packsaddle, New England Regional Art Museum (NERAM) Armidale, and École Supérieure des Beaux-Arts (ESBAMA), Montpellier France.
Join Joanne Makas and The Forest That Sighs in the Grave Diggers Hut, for a Sound Bath, on Sunday 11 Sept, 11am-12pm.
Transcription
Hi, I'm Joanne Makas and I'm presenting 'The Forest That Sighs,' here at HIDDEN Rookwood Sculptures. This work is an installation made from tissue paper and it is a spiritual, emotional and physical response to our present ecosystem. The work emerged out of a residency that I undertook towards the end of 2019 at the New England Regional Art Museum in Armadale.
In 2019, New South Wales had a very dry winter and it was just before the major bush fires. I remember driving to Armadale and noticing the lack of green. The trees were bare and the grass was dry and golden. While in Armadale I worked outside and connected to the land and felt the gravity of our climate situation. The significance of the work is still relevant because in the last six months, New South Wales has been experiencing constant rain and flooding as a result. Mother Nature is telling us that all is not okay.
The Forest that Sighs speaks to this, and then we need to make changes in how we live with nature and how we listen to her. Installing the work here in Rookwood connects to the fact that physical places are spiritual places. By being here, I am reminded that our ancestors had more spiritual awareness and respect for nature and other beings, recognizing our connection and interdependence.
We cannot disconnect the spiritual from the physical because the spiritual is all around us. The spiritual is often moving like a light wind without us even noticing. The trees are sighing words of wisdom and if we slow down and listen, we may hear the stories of the Earth. The Forest That Sighs is whispering to us to recognize the sacredness of this place that we have been given, to feel the vulnerability and gravity of climate change. These barely anthropomorphic forms, which seem rather oddly alien yet simultaneously familiar, possess a primal vitality that speak of the future, handmade, organic and imperfect.