Fiona Rafferty

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Essay Published January 5, 2018

2016 WATERHOUSE NATURAL SCIENCE PRIZE "SHELLACKED" - FINALIST

The Waterhouse Natural Science Art Prize was launched in 2002 and commemorates the birth of the South Australian Museum’s first curator, Frederick George Waterhouse. The prize is an opportunity for artists to investigate the world around them, and… Read more

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Content Published June 25, 2016

CONSCIENCE OF MY COUNTRY

Judith Wright was called the “Conscience of My Country” for many reasons, particularly her relentless pursuit of environmental concerns and indigenous rights. Her voice, through her writing, became the voice of the people caring for the land and its first people. “Conscience of My Country” is the work that I feel represents the way Judith felt about our country, the landscape and the effects of mining on areas of great beauty. I wanted to create a work on a scale that is commensurate with the magnitude of mine-sites, and the scale of the BHP owned Mt Whaleback mine-site in the Pilbara, the basis for this work, is staggering. It is more than 5kms long, 1.5kms wide and will be mined to a depth of half a kilometre. The sheer amount of earth shifted and set aside as tailings, morphs into a manufactured landscape. The first panel in “Conscience of My Country” was started in 2010 in response to the mining boom in Western Australia and the seemingly endless migration of people seeking their fortune by extracting minerals from our landscape. I spent time on a vast cattle station in the Pilbara, WA, working with farmers and miners who are now sharing the land as they work side by side, mustering and mining. Once the domain of graziers, the Pilbara has become a mecca for the fortune hunters of today. The final panel was completed in 2015 during much publicity about the Shenhua mine on the East Coast. We are not immune to the cause and effect that the rise and rise of the new Chinese economy has created, nor can we readily and freely admit that our conscience is clear. The latest threat, Shenhua, a proposed coal mine on the fertile, Liverpool Plains near Gunnedah, NSW, is testament to the greed of governments where the landscape becomes the sacrificial lamb in the face of development. It is also testament to the power of people, like Wright, who stand up for the environment and give it a voice.

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Essay Published February 9, 2016

2016 ADELAIDE PERRY DRAWING PRIZE "SALINITY" FINALIST

Finalists announced in the 2016 Adelaide Perry Drawing Prize. Rafferty's drawing "Salinity" is a finalist in this year's prize. The winner of the $25,000 a acquisitive award will be announced on 26 February at a gala opening in Sydney/ Read more

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Content Published November 15, 2015

CALANTHE 2

Judith Wright named her home on Tamborine Mountain, Calanthe, after the white orchid that blooms on the mountain at Christmas. The name, ‘Calanthe’, is derived from the Greek ‘kalos’ meaning beautiful and ‘anthos’ meaning flowers. There are over 200 species of Calanthe Orchid that grow throughout the world, but the species of terrestrial orchid native to Oceania, Asia and the islands of eastern Africa is named Calanthe Triplicata. Calanthe Triplicata is found growing in the humus rich soils of rainforest shaded floors, near creeks, at elevations between 500 to 1500 metres. At 545 metres above sea level, rich in volcanic soil and lush rainforest, Tamborine Mountain is the ideal environment for the delicate, white orchid’s sustainability.

Fiona Rafferty – Reminiscence (Bowral – September 2015)

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Content Published November 1, 2015

THE CORAL BATTLEGROUND

c Teaming with marine life and with more than 344,400 square kilometres of spectacular coral reefs, sand cays and islands, the Great Barrier Reef is Australia’s most precious marine possession and the largest living organism on Earth. It can even be seen from space.

In 1963, Judith Wright and a small group of dedicated conservationists, recognised the need to protect the Reef from coral-limestone mining and oil exploration. They formed the Queensland Preservation Society in response to that threat and in 1967 were labelled as “cranks”. From 1963-1976, Wright wrote letters daily to politicians and the media and the small group were joined by scientists, trade unionists and politicians throughout Australia. Her book titled “The Coral Battleground” documents the lengthy campaign to “Save the Reef”.

Together, the biodiversity and interconnectedness between species and habitats, represents one of the richest and most complex natural ecosystems on earth and, largely due to the efforts of Wright and her dedicated visionaries, The Reef was declared a World Heritage Area in 1981.

My work, titled “The Coral Battleground”, pays tribute to Wright and the passionate and dedicated people like her, who are brave in the face of bureaucracy and public apathy, and are not frightened to act for the environment.

Fiona Rafferty – Reminiscence – A Tribute to Judith Wright (Narrabri, October 2015)

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Content Published November 1, 2015

THE RED LIST

Judith Wright’s small poem “Extinct Birds”, conveys a strong and powerful message to the reader. She brings the visual imagery of the birds to life through the lines, “bird, blue, small, spangled like dew” and “scarlet satin-bird, swung like a lamp in berries”, appealing to the mind and senses and allowing for a deeper connection, understanding and appreciation of the birds mentioned in the poem. There is a paradox in Wright’s final lines, “ All now are vanished with the fallen forest. And he, unloved, past hope, was buried, who helped with proud stained hands to fell the forest.” In “Red List” I have chosen to depict a common pink galah, felled not by a logger’s axe, but by the rush of metal. The natural habitat of our birds is shrinking, forcing them out of the forest and into the headlights and almost certain death. Ornithological text depicted in the work, references the critically endangered Australian birds currently on the IUCN Red List. Their common names are Orange-bellied Parrot, Spotted Quail Thrush and the Regent Honeyeater.

Fiona Rafferty – “Reminiscence” – September 2015 (Bowral)

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Content Published November 1, 2015

EXTINCT BIRDS

EXTINCT BIRDS by Judith Wright Charles Harpur in his journals long ago (written in hope and love and never printed) recorded the birds of his time’s forest- birds long vanished with the fallen forest- described in copperplate on unread pages.

The scarlet satin-bird, swung like a lamp in berries, He watched in love, and then in hope described it. There was a bird, blue, small, spangled like dew. All now are vanished with the fallen forest. And he, unloved, past hope, was buried,

Who helped with proud stained hands to fell the forest, And set those birds in love on unread pages; Yet thought himself immortal, being a poet. And he is not immortal, where I found him, In love and hope along his careful pages?- The poet vanished, in the vanished forest, Among his brightly tinted extinct birds?

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Content Published November 1, 2015

CALANTHE 3

Judith Wright named her home on Tamborine Mountain, Calanthe, after the white orchid that blooms on the mountain at Christmas. The name, ‘Calanthe’, is derived from the Greek ‘kalos’ meaning beautiful and ‘anthos’ meaning flowers. There are over 200 species of Calanthe Orchid that grow throughout the world, but the species of terrestrial orchid native to Oceania, Asia and the islands of eastern Africa is named Calanthe Triplicata. Calanthe Triplicata is found growing in the humus rich soils of rainforest shaded floors, near creeks, at elevations between 500 to 1500 metres. At 545 metres above sea level, rich in volcanic soil and lush rainforest, Tamborine Mountain is the ideal environment for the delicate, white orchid’s sustainability.

Fiona Rafferty – Reminiscence (Bowral – September 2015)

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Content Published November 1, 2015

CONSCIENCE OF MY COUNTRY 6

Drawing

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Content Published November 1, 2015

CONSCIENCE OF MY COUNTRY 9

Drawing

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Content Published November 1, 2015

CONSCIENCE OF MY COUNTRY 8

Drawing

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Content Published November 1, 2015

CONSCIENCE OF MY COUNTRY 7

Drawing

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Content Published November 1, 2015

CALANTHE 1

Judith Wright named her home on Tamborine Mountain, Calanthe, after the white orchid that blooms on the mountain at Christmas. The name, ‘Calanthe’, is derived from the Greek ‘kalos’ meaning beautiful and ‘anthos’ meaning flowers. There are over 200 species of Calanthe Orchid that grow throughout the world, but the species of terrestrial orchid native to Oceania, Asia and the islands of eastern Africa is named Calanthe Triplicata. Calanthe Triplicata is found growing in the humus rich soils of rainforest shaded floors, near creeks, at elevations between 500 to 1500 metres. At 545 metres above sea level, rich in volcanic soil and lush rainforest, Tamborine Mountain is the ideal environment for the delicate, white orchid’s sustainability.

Fiona Rafferty – Reminiscence (Bowral – September 2015)

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Content Published November 1, 2015

CONSCIENCE OF MY COUNTRY 5

Drawing

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Content Published November 1, 2015

CONSCIENCE OF MY COUNTRY 4

Drawing

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Content Published November 1, 2015

STUDIO VIEW - TAMBORINE MOUNTAIN

In 2010, I relocated to Queensland after living in Western Australia for 25 years. I was struck by the colour of the vegetation and the quality of the air. The contrast between the dry almost suffocating heat of the west, with the moisture filled air of the east, was tangible. Tamborine Mountain, in the Scenic Rim Caldera, became my home for the next few years. Judith Wright also discovered a sense of place when she lived on Tamborine Mountain and she found peace in “Quantum” and “Calanthe”, her homes that she shared with philosopher, Jack McKinney and their daughter Meredith. My first studio on the mountain had a large window that looked out onto a small, but lush section of remnant rainforest. The sound of the whip birds and bell-birds was tangible, but they were secreted from view. In “Studio View”, I have woven text through the vegetation that describe the many species of birdlife and flora and fauna living there, camouflaged by the tall trees and abundant ferns.

Fiona Rafferty – “Reminiscence” – September 2015 (Bowral)

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Content Published November 1, 2015

CONSCIENCE OF MY COUNTRY 3

Drawing and printing

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Content Published November 1, 2015

CONSCIENCE OF MY COUNTRY 1

Judith Wright was called the “Conscience of My Country” for many reasons, particularly her relentless pursuit of environmental concerns and indigenous rights. Her voice, through her writing, became the voice of the people caring for the land and its first people. “Conscience of My Country” is the work that I feel represents the way Judith felt about our country, the landscape and the effects of mining on areas of great beauty. I wanted to create a work on a scale that is commensurate with the magnitude of mine-sites, and the scale of the BHP owned Mt Whaleback mine-site in the Pilbara, the basis for this work, is staggering. It is more than 5kms long, 1.5kms wide and will be mined to a depth of half a kilometre. The sheer amount of earth shifted and set aside as tailings, morphs into a manufactured landscape. The first panel in “Conscience of My Country” was started in 2010 in response to the mining boom in Western Australia and the seemingly endless migration of people seeking their fortune by extracting minerals from our landscape. I spent time on a vast cattle station in the Pilbara, WA, working with farmers and miners who are now sharing the land as they work side by side, mustering and mining. Once the domain of graziers, the Pilbara has become a mecca for the fortune hunters of today. The final panel was completed in 2015 during much publicity about the Shenhua mine on the East Coast. We are not immune to the cause and effect that the rise and rise of the new Chinese economy has created, nor can we readily and freely admit that our conscience is clear. The latest threat, Shenhua, a proposed coal mine on the fertile, Liverpool Plains near Gunnedah, NSW, is testament to the greed of governments where the landscape becomes the sacrificial lamb in the face of development. It is also testament to the power of people, like Wright, who stand up for the environment and give it a voice.

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Content Published November 1, 2015

CONSCIENCE OF MY COUNTRY 2

Drawing and printing

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Content Published May 18, 2015

RAINFOREST VIEW 2 SOLD

Pen, ink and hand-stitching on arches paper.

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Content Published May 18, 2015

RAINFOREST 1 SOLD

Pen, ink and hand-stitching on arches paper.

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Content Published May 18, 2015

RAINFOREST 3 SOLD

Pen,ink and hand-stitching on arches paper.

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2016 ADELAIDE PERRY DRAWING PRIZE "SALINITY" FINALIST

Finalists announced in the 2016 Adelaide Perry Drawing Prize. Rafferty's drawing "Salinity" is a finalist in this year's prize. The winner of the $25,000 a acquisitive award will be announced on 26 February at a gala opening in Sydney/ Read more
2016 WATERHOUSE NATURAL SCIENCE PRIZE "SHELLACKED" - FINALIST

The Waterhouse Natural Science Art Prize was launched in 2002 and commemorates the birth of the South Australian Museum’s first curator, Frederick George Waterhouse. The prize is an opportunity for artists to investigate the world around them, and… Read more
NANCY FAIRFAX STUDIO RESIDENCY - Tweed River Art Gallery and Margaret Olley Art Centre - September 2017

In September 2017 Rafferty spent two weeks as Artist in Residence at the Tweed River Art Gallery and Margaret Olley Centre in the Nancy Fairfax studio. Her current work relates to the view of Mt Warning from the studio. Read more

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