Plexus: an investigation of site in relation to form

This exegesis is titled Plexus, which means matting or plaiting, to emphasize the concept of interconnection. The history of a place, memories, the journeys to and from it, the connections to the environment and each other shape our experience of it. Looking closely at a particular place gives an awareness of the way that history, natural surroundings and society combine to produce a distinctive location. Applying the model of the rhizome developed by Deleuze and Guattari, and the Buddhist philosophy regarding interconnection, this project explores the interconnectedness of geological/topographical configurations, and social and material history of Hanging Rock, near Nundle NSW, and the region surrounding it. After examining the impact of colonialism on the Aboriginal people of the region and the differences between the ways in which both groups perceive the environment, it is apparent that the subsequent degradation of Hanging Rock, once an unspoiled wilderness, was a direct result of these differences. The microscopic organisms, the less noticeable or seemingly unimportant plant life and the layering of other plant material in the environment are investigated and given equal status with the more noticeable so as to make clear the need to value each entity equally, all play a part in the health of the environment. In this particular case study of Hanging Rock I will explore how art can critique the human domination of nature. I will do this through an auto - ethnographic framework, along with theories of place, and with reference to the ideas promoted in ecofeminism, the possibility of an ethical commitment to the environment. The role of collecting, both in the methodology I have adopted and that of other artists, plays a part in the investigation of Hanging Rock. During this study I will produce artworks which will highlight the concerns I have in relation to the impact of human intervention on the Hanging Rock environment; in doing so I intend to communicate the fragility of this beautiful and changing place to a wider audience through a visual interpretation.