Whilst exploring aging as part of my practice, loneliness has been a recurring theme. This has generally been connected with grief, or grieving, and solitude was generally regarded as an undesirable state by older people  in my family. These images are about invoking place.

Solitude is not the same as loneliness. I choose solitude. To be alone, to be intentionally immersed in place was the catalyst that drew me to this serene place. Spending many hours wandering, stopping, thinking and photographing instinctively as the river speaks.

I have used the overlaying, sinuous intertwining of the paperbarks in creating these images to pay homage to their existence. Colours used are true to the bark, from soft pinks and gentle oranges, to bold magentas and powerful greens. Boiled paper with paperbark and  collagraph prints developed simultaneously were photographed to add extra depth of experience of place to the images.