By Parker McKenzie
Along Horologist Lane in Ferntree Gully, the first in a series of public art exhibitions currently light the wall.
Commissioned by Knox City Council, the works involve the collaboration of two artists and local school children to create depictions of local flora and fauna.
Joanne Mott said she was invited by the arts and culture team at Knox City Council to create art within five light boxes within Ferntree Gully Village.
“I am an artist who is very passionate about environment and place,” she said.
“I was thinking about what are the qualities of that place, which is the Ferntree Gully area where I spent time while I was growing up in the eastern suburbs.”
Ms Mott engaged with local children to assist with pressing local plants, in an effort to engage them with the native flora.
She said pressing is a traditional and scientific technique used by botanists historically.
“You would collect the sample and you place it in between sheets of paper and put weights on it,” she said.
“In doing that you actually preserve them, and you can preserve them for hundreds of years.”
Ms Mott worked with the children in school holiday workshops and used indigenous plants and flowers before the school children created collages of native animals.
“We had echidnas, kangaroos, wallabies, snakes and of course lyrebirds, which are very well known in the area and a much-loved icon,” she said.
“After the workshops, the children made their collages of an animal and my collaborating partner John Powell took the children’s work and created a backdrop for all the beautiful animals.”
The Ferntree Gully Creative Placemaking Project will host a rotation of local exhibitions within the light boxes, with Ms Mott’s collaborative art the first installation in the series.
After developing the Ferntree Gully Placemaking Plan earlier in the year, Knox City Council said consultation with community members “told us they want to see the return of the once-vibrant historic township and the village become a strong tourism destination as a gateway to the Dandenong Ranges.”
Ms Mott said local councils are increasingly getting behind artists and supporting them to create public art and engage with the community.
“As an artist, I make my own work but I also feel like it’s valuable to create opportunities for people in the community that might not have access to be invited to contribute,” she said.
“They’ll feel a lot of pride I hope and a greater sense of belonging when they see their artwork out in the world.”
More public artwork will be created in the light boxes and around key areas in Ferntree Gully Village in the coming weeks and months.
