I am currently exploring environmental concern by looking at biodiversity loss caused by deforestation and pollution. By observing and documenting botanical form and its ecological surroundings, I frame my work in the light of chosen perception, how humans choose to perceive and engage with the natural environment. During brief interactions with nature we tend to read an environment as a whole, overlooking botanical details and the intricacies of how mutually dependant species are within an eco-system. To signify this oversight, I use large brush strokes to paint black and white imagery, portraying the form of the landscape but omitting most of the details such as the plants, animals and insects.

This over-simplification of the environment is painted in a postcard format, connoting the notion of nostalgia. The roads I depict are footpaths and gravel roads that formed by perpetual human activity. The pathways signify the choices of either protecting our natural environment through conservation and sustainable practices or the threatening alternative of pollution and deforestation. It is my contention that it is our responsibility to choose the lens through which we perceive the environment and how we view our own actions pertaining to nature.

Through this body of work, I explore the Afromontane mist belt forest biome of the Magoebaskloof region. Under investigation is the network of waterfalls and streams that allow plant species to flourish and decompose into forest debris that nourish the soil. The observed ecological community that is found within this subtropical forest is documented in black and white ink drawings with watercolour washes added to selective artworks. These artist's impressions depict the experience of the forest through the lens of a hiker as the landscape is perceived from shifting vantage points while tracking through untouched terrain. Mounted in pod-like round frames, the artworks not only speak of conserving the pristine natural environment but also of preserving these moments of perception and connection.

I explore the ephemeral nature of existence in my botanical collection by reflecting on my provenance, nostalgia, loss, and absence. I use these contemplative memories as devices to evoke distinctive feelings that remind me of liminal states of my being. To convey this ethereal sense, I identify emotive signifiers of meaning within my immediate surroundings such as remnants of nature. I collect and archive small objects such as fallen or wilted flowers, seed-pods and leaves as keepsakes to remember fleeting moments. In addition to the personal meaning that I project onto these objects, these objects also act as agents that connote the shift in its biomorphic form from its former living state to its current shrivelled state. Therefore, the physical appearance of these objects carries emotive meaning that speak of timeframes of the past and of the present. The present form of the botanical objects under investigation still touches on concepts of its past. Therefore, concepts such as life, growth, fertility, and abundance can still be translated through a fallen leaf, even though it is no longer in a living state.

When dissecting the notion of ephemerality, words that come to mind include change, seasons, and loss. In my artworks, I refer to visual imagery of blossoms that bloom and flowers that shed petals to signify shifting phases. The turmoil of change may leave us with moments of disenchantment, these are the moments that I investigate in my art practice. To accept that these tainted times will become part of our identity, we understand that although grief may linger, betterment awaits even when we lose something that is dear to us such as a loved one, ambitions or even unrealised dreams. I attempt to instil a melancholic atmosphere within my work that coincides with the conceptual consideration of ephemerality by juxtaposing the brightness of the images against sombre darker tones. By experimenting with how the light and shadows contribute to the dimensionality of the botanical paintings, depth is created by contrasting lighter and darker hues. I alter the variations in colour and the movement of this water-soluble medium on paper by diluting it with water in such a way as to instil an ethereal quality.

By adjusting the use of negative space in the composition of my artworks and altering the level of transparency, the objects appear to float, representing a state of stillness. Stillness suggesting a moment in-between states, a moment to reflect, to process or to become. My previous work was mainly informed through environmental concern and comprised sculptural installations, community art practice and site-specific interventions. Although my current choice of medium is a radical leap from those more experimental art practices, any form of art making method I undertake always commences with drawing to capture the idea or the image. For me, art making starts when line meets paper. I would describe my mark making technique as sketching with a combination of water-soluble art media that include ink and watercolour pigment. Watercolour in my opinion is an art medium that can translate emotive meaning, owing to its contrasting properties, when saturated, it reads as strong, yet, when used with restraint, it appears to be delicate.