Eden Unearthed, the largest privately funded exhibition of its kind in Australia, returns to Macquarie Parks’ Eden Gardens on Monday 1 November. The 35-installation strong showcase spanning over 2.5 acres prides itself on upholding the three pillars of sustainability: economic, environmental and social, with generous stipends paid to support the artist’s work.
Featured artworks range from sculptural pieces, textile to tactical works, interactive sound and light installations, all capturing something exceptional and ephemeral about our environment, often utilising recycled materials and plant products. This year, there seems to be a little shimmer and sheen in many of the works, evocative of the hope that lies ahead and the joy we all feel at being able to celebrate and visit art exhibitions once again.
Graham Forsyth, one of the three Eden Unearthed judges and honorary Associate Professor UNSW Arts and Social Sciences said, “The works, often beautiful, sometimes whimsical, and always enchanting and stimulating, engage with Eden Gardens’ rich resources of spaces, nooks and ‘rooms’, using plinths made from trees, rocks, walls and water. The flow is both ways: the gardens and spaces allow the works of art to be enlivened and made rich with meaning, while the works support an idea of the garden as green, living, fluid and complex.”
This sprawling exhibition is free to all and runs for a six-month period with the first prize being awarded $10,000 at the launch event on October 31. Picture giant dragonflies, floating houses, a labyrinth made from stick and stones, an expanse of tessellated painted works created in partnership with the trees themselves and suspended and a 'living biofield' of lichens and tardigrade micro-organisms. Our interactive catalogue will tell the story behind each piece of work allow guests to vote for their favourite and hear from the artists themselves.
Located beside the Lane Cove National Park, Eden Gardens is a beautiful plant mecca and display garden for the whole family. A special Children’s Art Trail and child friendly signage caters to all ages with workshops scheduled for the school holidays in January and again in April.
Locals, art and plant enthusiasts alike are invited to attend the launch event on Sunday 31 October, a guided tour begins with a traditional smoking ceremony amongst the gardens and finishes on the lawn with a Q&A with the artists hosted by landscape architect Costa Georgiadis. A small ticket price of $20 will cover seasonal canapes and bubbles.
Get your Tickets here.
Congratulations to the following artists selected:
Allyson Adeney Still
Mary Elizabeth Barron Scribbly Gum Lace
Alex Berini and Selina Springett Fools’ Gold
Pamela Lee Brenner and Johannes Muljana Bayangan
Jan Cleveringa Listening to Trees
Cybele Cox Mystic Kitten
Alix Crowe The Night Music Box
Rmsina Daniel Imaging the Past Before it Happens
Mimi Dennett FutureProofing
Saskia Everingham Shelters for the Coming Storms
Caleb Fletcher and Christopher Stenta Trickster
Christina Frank and Michelle Perrett Small Bird
Marta Ferracin Symbiont
Neelam Gopalani The Walk Forward II
Ryoko Kose w- Danielle Minett Being Keepers
Caroline Kronenberg Fragile
Simone Leonelli 4 Seasons and The Drop
Pamela Leung Knots of Eden
Anne Levitch Strategems
Francois Limondin Reflection
Ainslie Murray Road Trip
Owen Redmond A Precarious Position
Anne Palmer Gold Leaf
Basilios Papaioannou Leonardi de Hawk
Louis Pratt King Coal
Lisa Shepherd & FCR’s Youth Off The Streets Floral Odyssey
Christy Sin Rain
Chloe Alice Stafford Zenova and Cave of Yhi
Jayanto Tan Ritual Rainbow Gathering
Alison Thompson Our Happy Place
Aria-Joshes Waterford They Paved Paradise and Put Up a Parking Lot
Elizabeth West Sticks and Stones