Bractea (2021)

The Palmer Project, Palmer, South Australia

Aluminium and steel, approx. 1.5 × 1.2 × 1.2m

Inspired by the voluptuous curves of a drying leaf, Bractea re-imagines an ordinary leaf as a progression of rounded forms reminiscent of landscape. The duality between object and landscape uses ambiguous form to shift perception and engage with symbolic impressions of reality hidden beneath the surface.

The work physically explores the folds and curves encountered in the natural world — forms that twist and change as the viewer moves around the sculpture. By conflating object and landscape, Bractea speaks to the degradation of landscapes and the loss of vegetation, habitat and species: a memorial to fallen leaves blown away in the wind.