Marion Peters, River Gum Canvas (Art (2019))

Near the Murray River in North West Victoria many river red gum grow. Each one of these eucalyptus trees have characters all of their own. Appearing like a canvas in nature, so much they tell as we look closely into their skins or bark as we like to call it. The shade of the new skin and the colours which develop as it ages, the way the bark flakes or peels away as the tree expands with age, the differing patterns cracking in the toughening bark or weeping of sap from those trees resisting the peel, and the scars left by creatures depending on these trees for their shelter and survival, assist the trees in delivering their story, leaving questions for the curious mind. Is that scar on your new skin from a feral cat or a goanna? When did you last have a drink and was it a flood?

Images have been resized for web display, which may cause some loss of image quality. Note: Original high-resolution images are used for judging.