Weeping Willow of War

Winner of the Recognising Families public art commission for the Australian War Memorial Canberra. Unrealised project

Symbolically, graphically and sculpturally, weeping willows convey a feeling of sorrow, death, loss and grief. Some cultivars are literally called tristis (sad), or sepulcralis (pertaining to a tomb or funeral). Yet weeping willows are also a symbol of perseverance, resilience and immortality because of their literal ability to regrow from any fallen branch, able to adapt to any shape or circumstance. They represent resurrection, and are also called the ‘tree of immortality’. Even if weeping willows look sad, they carry the potential for renewal and hope.

Weeping willows are potent symbols of our human sorrows. Claude Monet painted weeping willows in response to the tragedy of World War I. In North America wives, sisters and daughters of soldiers used to embroider weeping willows in reference to the experience of war. They have been endlessly featured in poetry and in popular culture, including the recent Harry Potter movies. For the AWM Family commission, I propose to make a Willow Tree Sculpture that grows out and over one of the planter boxes in the selected site.

Titled Weeping Willow of War, it consists of a metal tree trunk and sculptural branches, graphically representing a willow tree, with hanging fabric strips representing the drooping leaves. Fluttering from the wind, each ‘leaf’ is a text expressing a first hand experience of a family member of a current Australian soldier or war veteran.

Concise and direct, they are short first person narratives selected from the AWM archives, and related institutions. Like an open book for all to read, they tell us of the mundane and daily struggles of families as a consequence of war. With the potential for renewal and growth, I offer this tree as a space that can be curated into the future, where new and old narratives can be added, deleted, or rotated.

Like real leaves that fall off and renew themselves, I see this tree as an open book for powerful personal narratives to be shared for decades to come.

I make art that blends nature, art, science, and technology to transform unconventional materials into awe-inspiring installations, sculptures, performances and videos. My work often invites us to observe the wonders of nature, and particularly of the small. I find working at a large scale to provide a source of surprise and novelty.

Throughout my four-decade career I have used a variety of means to explore our complex and awe-inspiring world: microscopes to capture the sex organs of invertebrates and plants; shearing and dying sheepskins to create murals; arranging preserved frogs into abstract patterns; filming the mating rituals of Australian peacock spiders; or using emu feathers to create avant-garde capes and hats.

The ‘Recognising Families’ commission aim was to honour the families of Australians who have served in war, peacekeeping and humanitarian operations, recognising the remarkable contributions made by families to Australian military history, while raising awareness of the losses endured and sacrifices made.

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