Oh, they slide and they vanish | 2022

Original artwork by Sharon Field 

Oh, they slide and they vanish, watercolour, graphite and gouache, 13cm x 11cm (image),  2022. Framed size: 33.5cm x 33.5cm, black mat and black frame.

At the end of the season, the petals from my roses cascade down to the soil where they mix and mingle with the fungi already in residence. Gradually the rose petals vanish as they melt into the soil absorbed by the fungi, only to reappear again fresh and invigorated in the new season.

The title of this work has been drawn from the writings of the wonderful Australian Poet, Judith Wright who was known as the 'the conscience of the nation' for her commitment to the environment and Aboriginal land rights. Her aesthetic centres on the relationship between people and the environment, which she viewed as the catalyst for the creation of her poetry. I wonder what she would say to us today. SF