Fish Factory

Heather is an Australian artist and papermaker who joined us at the factory in May. Here she explored a project she called Stone Stories, about stones as life forms which hold the stories of millennia.“It was great to be able to stay focused on one theme without distractions and explore it at this artist residency through using a variety of paper and print mediums and even experimenting with ceramics.

Stodvarfjördur is an amazing landscape where the mountains dominate the skyline. I discovered that the townsfolk love stones as well and collect them from the mountains and fjord shorelines to carefully place in their gardens. These appear as benevolent nature spirits, like additional family and community members, each with their own distinctive form and presence. I knew about Petra’s stone museum but was astonished at her story of climbing the mountains with her children and grandchildren to bring home these jewelled treasures and share her love of stones and nature with others.”

“During my one month at the residency, I experimented with cyanotype prints where the stones themselves become the negative /positive images. I started with the idea of bearing witness to the rock avalanches caused by increased rain through climate change. I ended up experiencing an intense relationship of stones as exquisite life forms, from the small pebbles you collect to hold in your hand to the majestic mountains. Where there is a love of nature, there is respect for the interconnectedness of all things, human and other than human. I experienced this to its full extent at this artist residency and would like to thank Una and Vinnie for the space to explore my art in this new direction. This project is supported by the NSW Government through Create NSW.”

More on Heather´s work: heathermatthew.com

You can listen to Heather´s interview here:

Thank you Heather!