Guascoine, Simone & Masterson, Kate (AUS)
Nature's Reset
Simone Guascoine is a four-time finalist in Paper on Skin™. 2024 was her first time collaborating with friend and fellow artist Kate Masterson. To complete the trio, Simone’s daughter Dacqmar modelled the piece.
Simone work often holds deeply personal and meaningful stories. Nature’s Reset is no exception.
“The Black Summer Bushfires of 2019/2020 have come and gone. For one of us, Kate, it’s a period of time that is indelibly etched in her mind. It is part of her...she has held her quiet centre and done only what she could do through the recovery phase.
Nature’s Reset is a celebration and honouring of the restorative power of nature and an overwhelming feeling of reverence for what has occurred.
The burnt landscape has undergone a metamorphosis; unrecognisable from the charred remains. What a sight to behold! Seeds have played an important part in this metamorphosis. The intense heat, smoke and ash set off a chain of events for the seeds that were caught up in its fury. They found their space in the ash and have covered the landscape with an abundance of wildflowers, grasses, fresh shoots and young saplings. The scrub trees have grown spread and formed a canopy over the rolling hills of Batlow. Blackened limbs saw a coating of green and red sprouts covering them – the contrast eye catching. A picture ready to be taken and taken they were by locals and visitors alike.
Nature’s Reset takes you on a visual journey of the restorative powers of nature. From the outer layer of seed pods to the sculptural inner layer that showcases the colour change of the landscape, the germinating seeds, the trees, faces of native animals and much more. It demonstrates the tenacity of nature creating a visual feast for the viewer.
Materials: Sheets of white tissue paper sealed with PVA glue. Sheets of black tissue paper sealed with shellac. Hat papier-mâché with Japanese paper. Numerous different papers from India, kitchen cupboard and recycling box.
Simone Guascoine Instagram www.instagram.com/simone_guascoine
Kate Masterson Instagram
www.instagram.com/endortruff
See the Work on Film
Photos Credit: Grant Wells Photo