FIve Lilies Suite | Artist's Statement
A suite of five colour etchings each printed from three plates.
My interest in the Gymea Lily (Doryanthes excelsa) stems from a time when my family and I lived at Stanwell Tops at the Northern end of the Illawarra Escarpment, on the South Coast of New South Wales. This particular plant with its tall, striking flower spike is a dominant feature of the botanical landscape in the area. The early naturalists of the day even referring to it as the ‘Illawarra Lily’. It was of particular significance to the aboriginal people of the area both as a food source and as a symbol tied to their ancestral roots. The Gymea Lily became a symbol of place for me in my previous series titled ‘Location’, which explored the links between place and family, home and heritage. This plant still maintains a fascination for me even after having moved from the area. There is a unique appeal in the flower’s profusion of chaotic forms, its scarlet and violet hues, the leather-like finish of its flower segments. The height of the flower spike, sometimes at 2-4 metres, also required trundling through bush with ladders or scaling nearby trees for a close enough angle for drawing or photographs. This difficulty merely added to its appeal for me.