ARTS
PROGRAM
CONFERENCE IMAGE
The Organising Committee commissioned a special conference image to
summarise the main themes of ESA Ecology 2003, namely ecology, evolution,
fauna, flora, and the wide range of ecosystem types, management challenges,
ecological processes, and environmental planning and policy issues presented
and discussed at the conference. We also wanted the image to provide a
lasting memorial of the conference for those participants who wanted to
invest in a special memento.
We commissioned environmental artist, Anna Curtis, from Port Douglas,
Qld, to undertake this special work for us. Anna specialises in reduction
lino prints, and it is in this medium that Anna has produced a limited
edition of 24 conference image prints. We paid Anna’s commission
by forward selling the first 10 images. We did this on the combined strength
of Anna’s previous work and of her water colour sketch of some of
her and our initial ideas.
Anna has entitled the conference image ‘In the Balance’ and it is reproduced here:
The story of In the Balance.
Beginning from inner circle and working out to the border.
Inner circle – seed sprouting new growth;
the essence of life. The tiny seed is the container of huge potential,
whether plant or animal.
Second circle – spiral of life; the force
within us and beyond us – that which is the continuum of life.
Third circle – native fauna. I have included
some of our unique wild creatures –gastric brooding frog (extinct);
bilby, dugong (both endangered); echidna, possum, wombat, platypus, flying
fox. Our sentient creatures must be respected.
Fourth circle – native flora. I have included
some of our well known and loved native flowers and pods – eucalyptus,
grevillea, banksia, acacia, melaleuca, callistemon, and leptospermum.
Their beauty is a treat to the senses.
These four circles together represent the earth. The circle
is womb like – protecting, nurturing. The area surrounding the earth
represents sky and ocean. Like embryonic fluid, it’s a buffer zone.
The birds and fish represent evolution – a sense of timelessness
and continual change.
The Border – this incorporates many elements
– changing landscapes due to human interaction and intervention.
This creates imbalance in the animal and plant world. Some elements I
have included are fire and regeneration, native grassland, woodland, wetlands,
drought, erosion, salinity, insect attack, land clearing. The healthy
rural setting includes biodiversity, greenbelts, tree planting, waterways,
farming trees, crops, animals and people.
To keep everything In the Balance, we must learn
to work with nature, not against it. To respect the land, not abuse it.
Through this artwork, I have attempted to communicate these concerns as
well as creating an image that can be viewed on many levels. It is a meditative
image, a mandala, a place to contemplate. What lies over the hill? What’s
hidden beyond the mountain? Will the new shoot grow into a giant tree
or a bean stalk? The unknown holds a sense of hope for the future.
HOW TO ORDER
How to purchase your conference image print
We have 14 remaining images to sell to conference delegates. The cost
of a print is $330 (GST-inclusive) and sales will be restricted to one
per person until the final day of the conference, should any prints remain.
If you would like to purchase an image, you should contact the UNE Conference
Company immediately and provide your credit card details in order to secure
your order:
UNE Conference Company
Telephone: (02) 6773 2154
Fax: (02) 6773 3766
Email: confco@metz.une.edu.au
Prints will be preferentially sold to conference delegates on a first
paid, first served basis. The proceeds are shared between the conference
(in order to balance the books!) and the artist.
If you like Anna’s work, you will be able to view some of her other
work during the conference at an Armidale gallery (details in your conference
satchel). She has also accepted our invitation to be an artist-in-residence
throughout the conference. Be sure to say hullo!