Artist Talk Karyn Fearnside Tree Conversations: Networking with the Wood Wide Web

Karyn Fearnside 

Right wing/Left wing (series 2 Bulldozer Cufflinks) 2019-20 

Wagga Wagga Art Gallery

Karyn Fearnside - work in progress

Karyn Fearnside 
Koala sleeve - work in progress.

Karyn Fearnside
Detail of Bulldozer Cufflink

Artist Talk 

Trees are a vital part of our communities,  much of what we do depends on trees. We use them to write on and build our homes. 

But what happens when  governments becomes corrupt and no longer makes decisions based on what is good for the environment and decides to focus on economic growth? 

My work expresses feelings of hopelessness relating to the wanton destruction of native habitat. 

The first sleeve shows the predicted amount of land clearing on the East coast if we continue clearing at today’s rates until 2030. Australia is currently the only developed country clearing land at this rate and is ranked 6th worst in the world. 

The matching right-hand sleeve shows the outline of a farm animal as butcher’s cuts. This correlation looks at one of the reasons that land is cleared, that of raising livestock. 

In a country where our soil is so fragile the fact that we continue to produce sheep and cattle for consumption fills me with unease. It’s time to consider the emissions that these industries contribute to climate change or as I prefer to call it climate emergency. 

The sleeves are made from used tablecloths. These were dyed using salt which creates these patterns and alludes to the salination caused by our agricultural practices producing food for our tables. The cuffs are pristine, fresh, unstained damask tablecloth. 

As a voter and an activist, I’m shocked and disheartened by our local members and politician’s inability to look after the citizens of Australia. In my minds eye I see them shaking hands and signing off on deals, which is how I came up with using only the sleeves and not the entire shirt. The narrative becomes anchored in the sleeve representing the arm, the hand, the part of the body that types the report, pushes the button, delivers the information.. 

This has also made the works focus somewhat on masculinity partly because I want to believe that female politicians will not betray me as much as their male counterparts but sadly that has been negated again and again over the past year with women in significant positions doing nothing to stand up for the environment. Recently Gladys Berejiklian  (Beri jicklian) Premier of NSW was warned that “salvage” logging after the recent fires would threaten significant koala populations in the states North Coast, but she did not prioritise that, instead shifting the conversation to “allowing wildlife carers into the area to help,” enabling the sustainable supply of native timber. This Sleeve is based on an iconic image of a koala climbing the front of a truck in a recently logged area. 

The Spiral Sun Orchid and the Imperial Hairstreak butterfly are both endangered species threatened by logging and land clearing. 

Of course, the Black Throated Finch and the Adani coal mine fiasco deserve a mention and for me are a reminder of what artists can achieve in the form of peaceful protest. Artists created 1000’s of pieces of artwork featuring the Black Throated Finch which were posted to various ministers and politicians highlighting their plight.  

But, here we see Priminister Scott Morrison “Scummo” to many waving a piece of coal around in Parliament. 

Last but not least, the cufflinks, my piece de resistance. 

I googled “logging Cufflinks” and was delighted and horrified to discover a whole world of cufflinks out there including these beautiful bulldozer ones with moveable parts and these sadly impossible to read ones which say “Stand by the boys in the trenches, Mine more coal” United States fuel administration. The cufflinks are a symbol of the club, to me the club of climate denying warmists who are beholden to the coal industry and permit the destruction of our precious environment and all its inhabitants to that end. 

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