Yarra Public Art Light Box Program

Carlton Library is located at 667 Rathdowne Street, North Carlton. The Light Box installation is located on the south wall of the library, along Newry Street near the junction of Rathdowne Street.

Installation #13

Four Gestures of a Grassland by Jessye Wdowin-McGregor

This exhibition stems from a long-term engagement with a remarkable stretch of land in Melbourne’s north, persisting amidst industrial and suburban development. A natural temperate grassland formed from volcanic activity millions of years ago, the area is a vibrant expression of flora and fauna in the urban landscape and highly significant from cultural, ecological and geological perspectives. The artist has visited the site over several years, recording a series of solitary performances that respond to the environment and the elemental forces that shape it.

As a continuation of her encounter with this site, she has produced a set of collages using photographs of collected native and weed plant species from the area. The collages loosely reference her performances and the phenomena of the grassland itself: gold leaf additions resemble the reflective objects used to channel light and wind in her performances, while shapes and symbols point to our elemental surroundings: earth, water, air, sun. The plants depicted imply the presence of the natural world and its ability to survive in unlikely places – including some of our most restless urban spaces.

Jessye Wdowin-McGregor is a Melbourne-based artist whose creative practice incorporates the moving image, performance, photography and collage. Her work explores the relationships between human and natural environments, the psychological resonances of place and notions of interruption, visual rift and image transformation.

Wdowin-McGregor completed a Master of Fine Art (by Research) (2008) at the Victorian College of the Arts and a Master of Cultural Material Conservation (2014) at the University of Melbourne. Read more.

Click through to watch a video where Wdowin-McGregor talk about her practice and the making of these images.