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More than 250 years after the HMB Endeavour’s voyage to Australian shores, an exhibition of contemporary botanical artwork at Tweed Regional Gallery & Margaret Olley Art Centre is highlighting the contribution the scientists and artists on this voyage made to documenting Australia’s biodiversity.
Scientists Joseph Banks and Daniel Solander, together with illustrator Sydney Parkinson, collected more than 1,000 species of plants and animals during their 70-day journey along the east coast of Australia in 1770.
The Botanical Artists’ Society of Queensland (BASQ) has responded to this historical voyage by developing an exhibition of contemporary botanical portraits based on the plants collected and scientific illustrations from that voyage.
Artistic Endeavour: Contemporary botanical artists’ response to the legacy of Banks, Solander and Parkinson will showcase new artworks as well as historical references and films featuring insightful interviews with some of the artists.
According to exhibition co-curator Beth Jackson, Artistic Endeavour provides a rich historical context while also being a contemporary snapshot of Australia’s precious native flora.
“The artists featured in the exhibition draw you into the fascinating micro-worlds of plants through their artworks – they depict both the intricate beauty and express an implicit ongoing need for knowledge, care and preservation,” Jackson said.
“Plant portraits in the exhibition range from iconic Australian species such as banksias and eucalypts, grevilleas and acacias (wattles), to the lesser-known and smaller-scale jewels and curiosities of our landscape such as a native violet and a carnivorous rainbow plant. The exhibition is testimony to Australia's unique and startling biodiversity.”
Tweed Regional Gallery Director Susi Muddiman OAM said the exhibition provided a wonderful opportunity for the Tweed’s residents to appreciate outstanding contemporary works by many of Australia’s leading botanical artists.
“The artworks not only tell a fascinating story that expands upon the records fellow artists made more than 250 years ago but they also encourage us to spend time with the beautiful details of the botanical world and to foster a greater knowledge and understanding of our environment,” Ms Muddiman said.
“Visitors will recognise plants that flourish in our region’s diverse environments in the exhibition and I hope budding botanical artists will be inspired to get out into our gardens, bushlands and reserves to create their own unique plant portraits.”
Past President of BASQ, artist and co-curator Dr Nita C Lester said it was exciting to offer new perspectives on the connections between art, science and Queensland’s cultural and botanical histories.
“Banks, Solander and Parkinson were faced with the overwhelming task of documenting an unimaginable wealth of curious new species as they made their way along the Australian coast,” Lester said.
“Not only did they have a very limited window to sketch and record the details of the plants they collected but the conditions under which they were working on board the Endeavour were also challenging, to say the least!
“Contemporary botanical artists have the luxury of more time and much easier working conditions and can carefully observe plants in their natural environments and follow them throughout their growing cycles.”
Artistic Endeavour: Contemporary botanical artists’ response to the legacy of Banks, Solander and Parkinson is showing at Tweed Regional Gallery from Friday 16 July until Sunday 19 September 2021.
For more information, visit: https://artgallery.tweed.nsw.gov.au/
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