Art installation oozes national success

A visual arts Honours student’s installation, inspired by human and plant interactions, has been selected to feature in a national art graduate exhibition in May.

The Charles Darwin University student, Tamara Howie, said she has been drawn to the roots of banyan trees since she moved to Darwin more than three years ago.

She has used a combination of screen-printing and sewing techniques to capture the unique beauty of the twisted tree roots in her installation, titled “Adventitious”.

Tamara is one of 22 of the country’s top graduate artists whose work has been accepted into the Hatched National Graduate Show 2015 at Perth's Institute of Contemporary Arts.

“I did something I thought would be fun and visually pleasing,” Tamara said.

“I wanted to create something that reflects how humans impact on the environment and how, in turn, the environment impacts on humans.”

Tamara said the bright colours of the root-like structures, which seemingly spill from an old air vent as part of the installation, were chosen to both attract and repel viewers.

“It is meant to draw you in, but at the same time you have to look away because the colours are so vibrant,” she said.

“I have always been drawn to the way colours can draw you in but also push you away by making it difficult to concentrate.”

Tamara will attend the opening of the Hatched 2015 exhibition, which will run from 2 May until 21 June.