About the Exhibition

glass sculpture

Aerial Growth V1 by Margot Alexander

The 2009 Ecologically Sustainable Annandale Exhibition includes the work of 7 artists and photographers. There are also objects and plant material from the Rozelle Bay Community Native Nursery. The criteria for inclusion in the exhibition was the depiction of an aspect of Annandale's modern ecosystem - reintroduced local provenance plants, wild animals, wetlands, reuse and community spaces.

Margot Alexander's glass sculptures are inspired by Mangroves. Sue Kallas was attracted to the "brilliant Blues and delicacy" of the Dianella Flowers, and the "vibrant pink" of the Lilipili berries - both local provenance plants.

Viki Alonso has reused discarded packaging to create Gaea 5. Joel Tarling has photographed his favourite place in Sydney - the Whites Creek Parklands. While Susanne Martain and David Lawrence hope you enjoy their images of Annandale's wildlife, Ted Floyd has mused on Whites Creek wetlands.

Forestry, farming and urbanisation during the 19th Century cleared most, if not all, the local provenance vegetation from Annandale. Between 1898 and 1938, Whites Creek and Johnstons Creek, on the boundaries of Annandale, were concreted as Stormwater Channels 951 and 55 2, to improve the sanitation of now Urban Annandale.

In the 1990's4, local residents sought to reintroduce local provenance vegetation, to encourage native birds to return. They established The Rozelle Bay Community Native Nursery (RBCNN) to propagate local provenance plants from nearby bushland, for reintroduction into Annandale's parklands. Thanks to the tireless co-ordination of Beth Buchannen and many other volunteers, a wide range of local provenance species are again thriving around Annandale. The City of Sydney recently reintroduced Mangroves to the Rozelle Bay foreshore.

In 1994, Ted Floyd initiated the Friends of the Earth "Living water Project" 3. Two Wetlands have been constructed in Annandale to filter Urban Stormwater before it enters Sydney harbour. The Federal Park Tidally-Influenced Salt Marsh Wetland were completed in 2001 and the Whites Creek Wetlands in 2002.

I hope you enjoy this exhibition.

Marghanita da Cruz
December 2008

Footnotes & References

Beth Buchannan in Rozelle Bay Community Native Nursery Hat
Beth Buchannen
RBCNN Co-ordinator 1995-

Eco-Annandale 2009 marks 10 years of Annandale on the Web