What might a healthy bush ecosystem look like if native wildlife had the opportunity to thrive?

The bush painting is about density, shelter, water and connection. Unlike the open alpine landscape, it is visually vertical, with trees, trunks, branches, foliage and river creating layers for the eye to travel through. The landscape is woven together in a plait pattern. If you start in the far distance you can follow the lines of the hills, trees and river as they pas over each other. The flower of life is also layered into into he background and in between spaces showing connection, life cycles and regeneration.

From a distance, the painting reads as a forested landscape; closer inspection reveals the smaller life within it. Species such as orchids, fungi, insects and creatures living amongst the vegetation and forest floor. I wanted the painting to feel dense with life, including the species that are easy to miss when moving through the bush.

Whio featured strongly in the stories shared during the project. Their association with clean, fast-flowing waterways makes them an important presence in a painting centred around healthy forest and river ecosystems. The South Island robin represents the return of birdlife as native forests recover and introduced predators are controlled. Velvet worms, an ancient group of creatures often described as living fossils, offer a glimpse into a much older story of life and are exactly the kind of small discovery that can be easily missed in the bush.