Craft ACT Artist-in-residence 2014: Bogs and Fens

Bogs and Fens: a rtist-in-residence
Bogs and Fens:
2014 artists-in-residence
The theme ‘bogs and fens’ for the 2014
Craft ACT Artists-in-Residence program
is a significant research area at the
Australian National Botanic Gardens.
Locally, these unique and endangered
peat-forming wetlands provide a number
of ecosystem services including breeding
habitat for endangered Corroboree frogs
and water control and filtration. Our
research at the Gardens, investigating
how seeds in these communities persist
and germinate, contributes to our
understanding of plant survival and
succession in bogs and fens.
Artists and scientists approach issues
in similar ways – both are inquisitive
asking the questions ‘why’ and ‘how’ and
thinking ‘outside the square’ to solve
problems or create artwork. Despite this
similarity in approaching an issue, their
observations of the natural world may
be very different. Artists can view the
natural world from different perspectives.
Scientists are aware of the fragile and
endangered nature of bogs and fens and
express this through their research. An
artist can express the fragility of these
ecosystems with a small, ‘simple’ intricate
woven basket from plants growing in
these ecosystems.
An artist’s interpretation of a
subject or issue assists scientists
with communicating it to the public.
Communicating our scientific research
is a key goal of the Gardens. This is one
of the strengths of the Craft ACT Artistin-Residence
program and a reason the
Australian National Botanic Gardens is
proud to support this program.
To see one artist’s interpretation of bogs
and fens is intriguing – to see three artists,
each working in a different medium, is
eye-opening.
I thank Sally Blake, Annee Miron and
Satoshi Fujinuma for their enthusiasm and
willingness to share their interpretation
of bogs and fens, and for the willingness
to share their crafts with staff and public
during their residency at the Gardens. You
each have brought a different perspective
to one of our scientific challenges –
understanding and protecting our
endangered bogs and fens.
Judy West
Executive Director
Australian National Botanic Gardens
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