‘Deadstanding’ is a permanent landscape installation located in the grounds of Rodd Court the home of the Sidney Nolan Trust. The work explores the notion of fire as a sublime aesthetic alongsidenits role within a regenerative cycle at the heart of many ecosystems.
The work explores the vision of an uncertain future drawing in narratives from both Wales and Australia. These remnant oaks summon both a hellscapes of modern war and deforestation. The human ability to wage war upon itself which is in turn extended to the natural world.
The ground has been made up with over 20 tons of local sand and gravel reflecting the lean earth of Australia alongside the possibilities of exploring the growth of drought resistant plants that and have adapted to live in a sand substrate. The dead standing trunks are made up of fallen oaks from next to the artists studio in Wales. Over the years as they slowly decay they will act as a haven for invertebrates.
