Australia Re-generated

Site-responsive Art, Land Art, Ecological Art.

Australia Re-generated is a response to Australia Map Gardens made historically. In celebration of Australian Federation in 1901, an Australia-shaped flowerbed was planted in the Sydney Botanic Gardens. This concept was extended into making “Australia Map” gardens in schools around the country, with the aim to educate in geography and horticulture, and to instil a sense of nationalistic pride. In a potent symbol of imperialist ambition, native plants were excluded from these “Australian” gardens.

A garden bed the shape of Australia, flipped backwards, Australia Re-generated repositions East and West offering a view of this continent from a different perspective. The species represented includes indigenous and native plants, and non-invasive exotics. This work conveys a view of national identity re-imagined in an inclusive and reflexive way.