This work depicts a Staghorn fern, Platycerium superbum, endemic to lowland rainforests in Queensland and northern NSW. Staghorns are epiphytic plants and do not draw nourishment from the host on which they grow, rather anchoring themselves to a host and gathering nutrients from the air and falling leaf litter. These ferns are popular with gardeners, and are propagated widely. However, the natural environment from which they originate is under increasing pressure from climate change.

This work was made after spending time in the remnant rainforests in the north-east New South Wales. Many parts of this area were devastated during the 2019-20 bushfire season, with regions of the ancient Gondwana rainforest burnt for the first time in recorded history. My practice examines how we experience and consume the spectacle of nature more broadly within contemporary culture during an era of increasing environmental uncertainty.