Habitats #2: Open Aviary
2007 - International Artspace Kellerberrin Australia (IASKA), Western Australia
Habitats #2: Open Aviary was made during a residency at International Artspace Kellerberrin Australia (IASKA) in 2007 as part of Habitats, a collaborative project bringing together contemporary artists, research scientists, local communities and land care groups in the Western Australian Wheatbelt.
The project explored transitional zones where natural and human environments overlap, examining the ways people, plants and animals coexist within a changing landscape. I photographed Western Australian salmon gums using a water tank transformed into a pinhole camera, connecting the photographic process directly to the landscape and its relationship with water.
The trees became ghostly witnesses to the forests that once populated the region, much of which had been cleared for wheat farming. The resulting changes to the water table contributed to increasing soil salinity, transforming the land and the habitats it could support.
The photographs evoke a haunting presence within this altered landscape. The salmon gums stand as reminders of what has been cleared and what remains, reflecting on the environmental consequences of settlement and the complex relationship between agriculture, nature and place.
Writing & Documentation
Claire Conroy, Habitats #2: Open Aviary
SPACED — Open Space, 2007