Botanical Corridor of the Western Plains - Sunshine Mental Health & Wellbeing Centre
Photography by Nicole Reed.
Botanical Corridor of the Western Plains
Client: Western Health. Curated by Arts Eleven Projects
Sunshine Mental Health & Wellbeing Centre
St Albans
50m x 1.4m
2023
Much of the western suburbs of Melbourne are now intensely comprised of built up structures. What was once the natural eastern edge of the Western Volcanic Plains – the third largest volcanic plains in the world – is now predominantly housing, manufacturing plants and farmed grasslands. One of the defining processes of developing my concepts is researching native botanical species that are specific to the areas in which I paint, whether those species are common, endangered or extinct. In the area of Sunshine and the Western Volcanic Plains I found that there were many species of native pea flower. I wanted to showcase some of these species not only due to their soft forms and impressive colour, but because pea flowers never bloom in isolation. Stems showcase brilliant waterfalls of pea flowers when they bloom, their petite petals folding in and around each other.
This sense of togetherness was something that I wanted to infuse into these clinical spaces, to quite literally give the feeling that no matter how one might be feeling that they are never alone and that there is a beautiful and support network surrounding whomever might be having these thoughts.
Photography by Nicole Reed.
