Landscapes of Time & Memory

Flinders Lane Gallery  April 28- May 23 2020   

 From the lens of memories to the present, looking back at 'my landscape' allows me to look back in time & the journey from past to the present , who I was, where I was, to who I am now, to where I am now. This landscape is also a measure & witness of time of the natural world and the constructed world we live in.

I refer here to 'my landscape', as the land I grew up on and the surrounding landscape, the landscape I have returned to, so entwined with who I am, my identity, sense of self and sense of place. This land has formed how I see the world, my connection with the landscape nurtures my emotional and spiritual wellbeing. We all have these landscapes, so intrinsic to who we are.

These landscapes form who we are, nurture our values, our perceptions, our spirit and for me my sense of the spiritual. This landscape as a constant, has been witness to my life & of those in the years before me and for years to come. Throughout my life it has played both witness and carrier of my journey as I have simultaneously witnessed & experienced its growth, decay, weather & seasons, renewal & regeneration.

My landscape is intertwined with my memories, offering a living link to my past and to where I am in the present. Looking back at this landscape allows me to look back in time and also see time measured in the landscape, it is both slowly and subtly changing and also a constant.

This landscape has been a silent witness to my life and a place for solitude, renewal, nourishment and reflection. It has been a constant in the sometimes turbulent & changing journey of my life. The landscape too has at times suffered and endured, grown and renewed itself as we do too in our lives.

Favourite & familiar trees, hedges, paddocks & views of the land have stood silently and seemingly unshifting, (the subtle & gradual changes, becoming apparent over time,) as my own life shifted and journeyed through a myriad of changes. Grounding and comforting to return again and again to the familiar landscapes, an intimate knowledge of a vast landscape.

Looking at this landscape through a lens of memories and nostalgia helps see what we were and what we have become, a reflection of where we were and where we are now as well as the changed landscape over time. The landscapes of my childhood are also the landscapes I see now, my past is linked to my present. The landscape that has formed and influenced how I see the world , has nurtured my thoughts and beliefs, is still nurturing my every day. Solitude in this natural world, quiet moments of calm and reflection, inspiration and renewal, walking the land to clear your thoughts, to find inspiration & beauty, to be nurtured by the intimate details and vast views.

Kathryn Ryan January 2020