Planting new perspectives

Commissioned for the Tellus Project and Bundanon. First exhibited at Bundanon Siteworks, 26 November 2022 - 16 March 2023. The Tellus Art Project is a collaboration between UNSW Art and Design, the Sydney Royal Botanic Gardens Herbarium, Bundanon and Open Humanities Press.

Words by Deidre Martin, artwork by Erica Seccombe

Aunty Deidre Martin is a proud Walbunja Elder of the Yuin nation. She is an experienced cultural guide to the region and operates her business, Bugiya Naway Buridja (yesterday, today and tomorrow). She has worked as a Discovery Ranger for NSW National Parks for over 20 years. Her email is: bugiyanawayburidja (at) gmail.com

Dr Erica Seccombe is a visual artist based in the Canberra region, living in semi-rural NSW. She is a Senior Lecturer at the ANU School of Art and Design. Her interdisciplinary arts practice spans traditional lens-based imaging, print media and drawing, and experimental digital platforms using frontier scientific visualisation software. www.ericaseccombe.com

This collaboration grew out of Planting new perspectives, a project investigating the concept of ‘plant blindness’. This term refers to human inability to notice the plants in our surrounding environments, and describes the condition whereby society fails to acknowledge the vital role plants have, not only in the biosphere, but also in our cultural and spiritual lives. Walk beside me addresses Seccombe’s ‘blindness’ to First Nations’ knowledge systems and their significance, encouraging us to pause, listen and look.

The Tellus Art Project is a collaboration between UNSW Art and Design, the Sydney Royal Botanic Gardens Herbarium, Bundanon and Open Humanities Press.

Bundanon acknowledges the people of the Dharawal and Dhurga language groups as the traditional owners of the land within our boundaries, and recognises their continuous connection to culture, community and Country.

In Dharawal the word Bundanon means ‘deep valley.’