gallery and cafe

WILDFLOWERS

Wildflowers for me portray femininity which persists and flourishes in an environment that appears too strong, too harsh for their survival. Often the bush is hardened and misshapen, dry and prickly. The wonder is that it all happens. Wildflowers are rich and abundant in their colours and many are minute. They flourish in all kinds of terrain, creating sweeps of brilliance in good seasons.

I love wildflowers as to me they are a symbol of wholeness. Of the complete feminine - able to sustain herself from within and connected to the earth. Wildflowers are a portrayal of beauty and energy.

I am inspired by wild women such as Judith Wright, Germaine Greer, Jane Campion, Margaret Preston and Georgia O'Keefe. Margaret Preston portrayed wildflowers as strong and gutsy, able to survive and continue with minimal support. Her pictures were not like the usual watercolours done by nice women that always seemed to me to be an apology for being there. A bit like saying we won't disturb you; we'll just be here in the background.




When I saw Margaret Prestons' work, I believed that I could do that kind of picture. I knew this was the way I wanted to celebrate the wildflower and so I started. I was also influenced by my mother who has always set an example that we could do anything of a practical nature by just giving it a try. Over the years my love of wildflowers has led me to read and to find out more about these wonderful plants that possess all within them to create life and to continue to create and sustain life against all odds. They are connected to the earth's energy source.

Goethe, whose writing has influenced me, discussed how he observed in his study of plants, that the more plants are exposed to light and earth and little water, the harder, sharper and pricklier are the bushes. These hard edges allow the plant and the woman, to survive in this unique environment. The wonder is that they (flowers and women!) are still able to produce those feminine qualities. Flowers have beauty; they shelter and produce nectar, which is the sustenance of life. Lino cuts are the perfect medium to capture the hard edge and my work is a tribute to these flowers of the Australian bush, and to women.

The wildflower has continued to hold my interest all my life. When I go for a trip up the road with my mother or friends, to see the wildflowers, it's still something special.

The process of every piece of work that I do is long and deeply involving. I love the sense of dipping into my creative centre. Working on an idea or seeing something, a flower and its striking colour in amongst the greens and browns of the bush, sweeps of space and horizons, yellow swathes of drying grasses, deep still pools of water, the way rocks are shaped and hills rise in wonderful patterns, and of course, shadows and the shapes they make that give depth to all that we see.

Words by Jan Phillips with Jude Taylor
25 November to 1 December 2003