Porous Borders, Impermeable Boundaries

Rebecca Mayo's prints and textiles connect her interests in sustainable practices, local ecologies and forgotten printmaking techniques. In this installation for ART+CLIMATE=CHANGE 2017, Mayo reflects on the history of the Heide site. A series of cloth sandbags printed using eighteenth century Toile de Jouy methods and dyes made from indigenous and introduced plants gathered locally by the artist are stacked to form a wall in the exhibition space. Under the gaze of Yingabeal-the Wurundjeri songline tree that has for centuries stood sentinel on the land-the sandbags symbolise an environmental crisis point and highlight the cumulative impact of everyday and habitual activities.