Did I mention everything takes longer than you think it will? I have spent several days on the rakali, getting lost in Ferdinand Bauer's beautiful watercolour and the challenge of refining and refining. A few months back I found a definition of natural history that really resonated with me - "the patient interrogation of a landscape". This image became an intense conversation between me, Bauer, the rakali and the whiteboard, as I struggled to translate the subtle intimacy of a 19th century watercolour into the native media of a contemporary office space - partition walls, glass and dry erase markers. Memory, observation, trial and error, interpretation, concentration, expression, perseverance. There is something about drawing that makes you more aware of the processes of thought. I remember something catching my eye in the silky darkness of Burnley Harbour one night, couple of years ago, when I was riding home from work. I stopped my bike. Something rippled and vanished under the water, suddenly appearing metres away, then disappearing again. I thought, that's impossible, there are no otters in the Yarra. The white tipped tail was the give away, that's how I later identified the mysterious creature. I've only seen them a few times since, after dark when the bike track and the river are quiet. During my fellowship I planned to look at a wide range of early Australian natural history sources, starting with the best. So I requested the natural history drawings of Ferdinand Bauer. Reverently I opened the large solander box, and lifted out the plates one by one. There at the top was a beautiful, lithe rakali and I felt a wave of empathy and recognition for the artist and his subject. I like to think Bauer observed the rakali in some dusky waterway but I suspect his painstaking and delicate work was based on a considerably more compliant model. Though I hadn't thought of the whiteboard project at that time, a couple of months later, when Mark showed me the two metre wide glass panels over his desk in Rare Books, I immediately knew what the subject would be. ![]() A detail of Rakali's head. I am rather proud of the whiskers.
4 Comments
Sue Jay
1/23/2013 05:15:27 am
You should be proud of the entire picture. It really looks as if you are using pencil, and the graduation of colour is amazing.
Reply
Z
1/23/2013 06:15:57 am
This is amazing! I have to go see the real thing now, I am just so impressed - and the glass would have been really difficult too. All the works you've produced are just breathtaking, well done!
Reply
Bronwyn Trimble
1/23/2013 08:45:58 am
Your whiteboard drawings are exquisite in detail, and provide a delightful alternative to our usual visual experiences, in the work environment.
Reply
Linda Notley
1/23/2013 01:39:57 pm
Wow!!! They look so realistic - and I did love the little whiskers! Keep up the good work.
Reply
Your comment will be posted after it is approved.
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorDominique Dunstan is a reference librarian and artist. She works at the State Library of Victoria and has recently completed the Jane Nicholas Staff Fellowship. Archives
July 2013
Categories |