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

Bogs and Fens: a rtist-in-residence
Annee Miron
Borrowed time, 2015
Adrian Brown, a Ngunnawal man, told me
that in Ngunnawal country the alpine bogs
and fens “are the beginning of everything.”
These acid etched cataracts in the
mountain bushlands each hold and
slowly release vast volumes of water.
At ground level they are plain looking and
undramatic, though burst into diversity,
colour and life when explored up close
and over time and with the knowledge
shared by others: traditional owners,
rangers, scientists and archaeologists.
Living off the grid in Tidbinbilla Nature
Reserve at the Nil Desparandum
Homestead I realised that my usual
urban life, affordable and convenient,
leaves me oblivious to our destructive
culture and nature. My consumption,
wastes and production wear pathways
around the earth through a heavy
dependence on international trade.
Used cardboard boxes map this empire
of consumption and unseen waste so
I collected samples from Tidbinbilla, the
Australian National Botanic Gardens and
the streets around my Melbourne studio.
I have hand-cut and woven them into
forms inspired by the bogs and fens. Each
is underpainted with the colours drawn
from an already depleting inventory
of indigenous bog and fen plants and
animals. They draw attention to the
intricate, chaotic beauty beneath our feet
and how heavily we now tread across the
country. Across the world. To our own
destruction. I express my deepest thanks
and gratitude to all who have assisted and
talked to me about the bogs and fens,
concepts of environmental protection and
my art works in progress.
Left: Annee Miron with her preliminary work, Nil Desperandum Homestead, Tidbinbilla Nature Reserve.
Photography, Art Atelier Photography.
Above: Annee Miron, rope and twine preparation material (detail), Nil Desperandum Homestead,
Tidbinbilla Nature Reserve. Photography, Art Atelier Photography.
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