Gum Nut Chronicles (2024)

Concertina book, made with handmade paper and eucalyptus bark-toned cyanotypes

‘Gum Nut Chronicles’ documents the different species of eucalyptus seeds found in the Cumberland Plain Woodland located on Dharug land in Western Sydney. The concertina book contains a series of different-sized photographs made using alternative photographic techniques, allowing the forest to become a co-creator in the artmaking process. These micro elements of the forest are often missed or unseen due to the seasonal nature of Gum Nuts. We often rely on windfall leaves and branches or dropped gum nuts on the forest floor to examine them up close.

Digital negatives are used in various sizes to create the images. The repetition of both positive and negative versions of the images records the memories, life-cycle and regenerative properties contained within the gum nuts. The close-up photographs of the gum nuts reveal their unseen shapes and textures that form the landscape during the flowering season. 

The silver gelatin photographs are developed using an alternative Eucalyptus bark extract made from found eucalyptus bark that has shed from the tree to allow for new growth. The extract influences the tones of the photographs, as they reflect the organic nature of the woodland and become an extension of the site itself, as they contain its living material. Toned cyanotypes are also made using the same bark extract, making each page infused with the woodland’s essence. The chemical compounds of the forest, like the water-soluble tannins found in eucalyptus bark and leaves, play a significant role in creating alternative developers and colour-dyeing extracts. 

These processes show the intertwined relationship science and Art have, allowing us to make more considerate and eco-friendly alternative processes. By documenting these photographs in book form, I intend to capture the materiality and essence of the Cumberland Plain woodland, capturing the microorganisms that hold the future stories of the forest.