The Gardens of Stone

In 2015 I undertook a short residency at The Big C in Bilpin. Rae and Yuri Bolotin introduced me to Pagoda Country. We explored some of the amazing Pagoda formation and I began to understand the danger that this wonderful heritage was in. This inspired my attempt to make works that could draw attention to what we have, what has been here for so long, what has existed in harmony with First Nation People, what must be protected.

I used one of Yuri’s maps as a guideline for the contours of my work. I followed the contours of the rivers but then allowed the Pagodas to develop their own voice. I collected recycled blankets from various Op Shops with the help of family and friends, from as far away as Lismore to Blaxland, and I owe a debt of gratitude to Anglicare for their generous help in the creation of this work.

Anne Graham’s Gardens of Stone transmutes a god’s eye view of the magnificent banded limestone pagodas of the eponymous World Heritage National Park into three-dimensional layers of vibrant hand dyed textiles. Graham’s stunning use of colour presents the pagodas under different lights of day, progressing from brilliant sunshine to the shaded tones of late afternoon. The splendour of the work belies a darker story of ongoing contestation as in Maddison Gibbs’ mural Something in the Water (2023) firstly, of protection of this fragile landscape from longwall mining, and more recently achieving state protection of the adjoining Gardens of Stone State Conservation Area (2022), after some 90 years of campaigning.

Ann Finegan 2023