Time and Tide

Botanica Contemporary art outside 10 – 19 May 2019

Curatorial rational UAP curator asked for ‘Remnant Landscapes’ (past and future) What did the world look like before us and how will it be when we are gone? How do we view the past when it is embedded in our geography- flora and fauna- and how can an awareness of this provoke an imagining of future remnants. by Ineke Dane

Paula Payne Time and Tide a painted landscape 2019

The ephemeral work Time and Tide acts as a dissolving remnant of a tidal flood in the landscape. A subtle clay band is painted on the bamboo and small groups of trees referencing a 2meter tidal mark that once flooded the Botanical Gardens.The work is an aesthetic and contemplative piece yet also exists as a temporal map.The veneration of trees exists in many cultures where specific or groups of trees are decorated through a variety of ways to mark a place of contemplation and prayer.I feel that by venerating the landscape through creative marks and interventions as a way of paying respect and a homage to the environment acting and as a reminder to remain connected to the environment.

 In 1974 and 2011, and currently 2019 Townsville, floods impact on many both physically and psychologically. By presenting a painted tidal mark in the landscape ideas of how rising waters potentially change lives and the landscape are explored. Human induced global warming is a main contributor to rising waters at this time.

Through an expanded painting practice and by literally painting the landscape, Paula Payne continues to investigate the way human habitation in the 21st century has dramatic effects on the natural environment.