Having worked on a major art project for the past two years advising ISPT on an exciting development at George Place, Sydney, Justin Miller Art is thrilled to see the first instalment completed. A series of wall installations by Hiromi Tango entitled Healing Garden (Earth Flower) and a striking stainless steel sculpture by Lindy Lee entitled The First Innumerable are now gracing the lobby level.
Hiromi Tango, Artist Statement
Some of my earliest memories are of my grandmother in her garden. The care with which she nurtured each plant, and how just being in the garden made me feel. I want to reconnect with nature through art; nurturing body, mind and soul. I want to remember what’s important in life. I hope through this process the healing journey will continue. – Hiromi Tango, 2018
I would like to acknowledge the Gadigal People of the Eora Nation as the traditional custodians of this place, and for providing the inspiration for healing through strengthening our connection to nature.
The Healing Garden series focuses on the healing powers of plants and nature. In Healing Garden (Earth Flower) native flowers exemplify resilience; their ability to thrive in the harshest of conditions is used as a metaphor to suggest how we as humans can also draw sustenance from our environment. The flowers of the Banksia Marginata (Silver Banksia) for example produce sweet, energy-boosting nectar; the dried cones even retain their flowers and can be used to strain drinking water.
I wonder how humans might learn to become resilient like a native flower. Drawing from the healing colour palette, I imagine 23 cycles swirling and dancing like water. I envisage our DNA evolving into a plant. In the garden, we become connected in a different way, blossoming and thriving in our environment.
My sincere desire as an artist is that Healing Garden (Earth Flower) will provide a contemplative space where people will experience rejuvenation through taking the time to slow down and reconnect with the environment. My hope is for each person to find time in their daily life to engage with nature in the city, to be nurtured, and to grow their own Healing Garden ( Earth Flower) in their heart, mind and body. This project is dedicated to humanity.
Installation view, Hiromi Tango, Healing Garden (Earth Flower)
Lindy Lee, Artist Statement
The First Innumerable calls us to recognise the infinite number of possibilities, perspectives and pathways that unfold in the course of any life. Human history is made up of innumerable small decisions whose consequences are immeasurable. Identity is not static but is a constantly unfolding project of becoming.
Lindy Lee’s practice explores her Chinese ancestry through Taoism and Ch’an (Zen) Buddhism – philosophies that see humanity and nature as inextricably linked. She employs chance and spontaneity to produce a galaxy of images that embody the intimate connections between human existence and the cosmos. Her works are meditative, often revealing themselves through time.
Installation view, Lindy Lee, The First Innumerable