“…once you insist that nature reads, writes, articulates itself. Clearly, “the hu-man” has no privileged position as scribe if nature is, and always was, self-recording.”[1]

In the Presence of Absence are images made-with the dense fluidity of Waikato's peat lakes, sites of ecological intensity and human intervention. The artist collaborates with kahikatea giants and peat water to effect a series of nature writings: cyanotypes toned with tannin-rich lake water.

The works are created by wrapping cyanotype coated fabric around the trunks of Kahikatea trees, exposing the photosensitive substrate to light falling through the remnant forest canopy. The pieces of fabric are then soaked in tannin-stained water collected from nearby waterways. This process submits the photo-sensitive fabric to the acidities and colourings of the place.

The resulting works evoke the muddy, earthly qualities of the bogs. Like the slow-reacting cyanotype fabric, deeper textures reveal themselves gradually. Each piece is a layering of photographic and natural elements: tannin-rich plant matter imprints the submerged photographs, capturing a sense of the environment’s complex symbiosis. These are images of the insides of swamp forests.

The overlapping hues range from blue to ochre, from red brown to black. Each work exhibits unique textures—some with debris, light patches, and deeply stained edges, others with a chalky, light-giving appearance from partial immersion in water. Visceral and subtle, the works reveal as much as they hold back.

The peat lakes, formed around 18,000 years ago, are stained by peat to the colour of tea and host uncommon ecosystems, including insect-eating bladderworts, native pond weeds, eels, and the rare black mudfish. Dabchick, grey teal, and grey duck visit the surfaces, and fernbird, banded rail, and marsh crake live in the densely vegetated margins.[2]

The exhibition also reflects on the vast political and environmental implications of peatland drainage and mining. Peatlands, although they cover only 3% of the Earth's surface, hold twice as much carbon as all other forests combined.[3] Their destruction releases significant amounts of climate change-intensifying carbon dioxide. This narrative underscores the reciprocal and responsible practice of relating to the land, emphasising collaboration and connection between human and non-human nature.

The artist acknowledges their role as a manuhiri (visitor) in these landscapes, striving to create a practice rooted in connection and relationship. The works invite viewers to consider the complexities and intrinsic value of the environments they depict, fostering a sense of respect and responsibility towards these vital spaces.

In the Presence of urges us to tread lightly and with reverence. It is an invitation to witness beauty in the interplay of presence and absence, light and darkness, and to meditate on our place within the natural world.

[1] Vicki Kirby discussing Latour and Butler in the essay "Natural convers(at)ions: Or, what if culture was really nature all along." Material feminisms (2008): 214-236.

[2] “Peat Lakes” National Wetland Trust. wetlandtrust.org.nz /wp-content/uploads/2018/10/Wetland_panels

[3] “Restoring Peat Wetlands – Our Climate Change Secret Weapon.” Forest and Bird. 2021. forestandbird.org.nz /resources/restoring-peat-wetlands-our-climate-change-secret-weapon