Growing Things: An Investigation in the ways that plant-growth may inform the process of painting

Kruger, Maria

Growing Things: An Investigation in the ways that plant-growth may inform the process of painting

Master Thesis

2019

Abstract

My project interrogates traditional Western landscape painting in light of the contemporary understanding that ‘nature’ has been rearticulated, even plasticised and hence rendered malleable, through human action. The idea of a plasticised natural environment is concomitant with the age of the Anthropocene which has brought with it a tremendous rise in the use of plastic since the 1950s, and the consequent polluting effect it has had on the ‘natural’ environment. In recent years evidence indicates that traces of plastic are now in the earth, which suggests a need to rethink what exactly the ‘natural’ environment is comprised of. With reference to traditional Western landscape painting, my work explores the idea of a socially and materially constructed landscape. Utilising the medium of acrylic paint, I reimagine the landscape by using a material that embodies plastic. Removing the dried and solidified acrylic paint from its ground, the landscape painting is liberated from its supporting canvas and frame in an attempt to deconstruct traditional Western landscape painting. My project aims to rearticulate the language and meaning that is associated with landscapes and the natural environment.

Keywords

Fine Art

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