Nature in Art
A critical study of John Wolseley
Born in Britain in 1938, John Wolseley studied at the Byam Shaw and St. Martin’s School of Art in London; a school that is universally regarded as one of the world’s leading arts and design institutions. It was in 1959 that Wolseley moved to Paris and worked under the tutelage of S.W. Hayter at Atelier 17; a highly influential printmaker of the twentieth century. Wolseley proceeded to work at the Birgit Skiolds print workshop in London in 1962, he later relocated to the west of England and founded Nettlecombe Studios; a collective for artists and farmers centred at his ancestral home. Wolseley’s peculiar nomadic expeditions ceased after he settled in Australia in 1976 after extensively the Spanish Pyrenees for six months and an expedition up the Skarng River, Borneo between 1974-1975. The Australian landscape was a stark contrast to the rather monotonous and familiar European landscape that Wolseley had grown accustomed to, it provided him with a distinctive environment thus shifting his perspective and altering his painting practice that is his intense observation of nature. During his artistic studies, Wolseley resided as a artist in residence at studios strewn across Deakin University, the Joye Art Foundation, Bendigo, the Art Gallery of Western Australia and George Cottage Launceston and has instructed in painting in Northern Territory Communities since 1978.
Once settled in Australia, Wolseley continued to assume the role of an explorer, constantly seeking new locations and embarking upon the study of landscapes and threatened ecosystems. Entranced by the Australian interior, particularly the desert regions, Wolseley made numerous long winded journey throughout Australia, commencing in 1980 with his comprehensive exploration of central Australia, followed in 1984 by a trip to the north west of Australia. Wolseley had established a deep interest in the natural world and expressed this by receiving an Honorary PhD from Macquarie University, Sydney in 2005 in the course of Doctor of Science; thus reflecting his profound knowledge and continual interest of natural history, botany and ornithology. Wolseley is a devout conservationist and an outspoken advocate about the imperativeness of maintaining respect for the planet as conveyed through his works.
Since his debut at the London in 1959, followed by the Royal Academy in 1960, Wolseley’s work has appeared in an increasing list of solo and group exhibitions. Multiple honours in the Trustees of Art Gallery of NSW Watercolour prize have been bestowed upon Wolseley, other awards include the Visual Arts Board Emeritus Award, Australia Council (2005), Kedumba Art Award (1992)
A prevalent presence in Wolseley’s works is the meticulous detail that he employs to convey his wanderings and observations as he journeyed across Australia. Wolseley stated: “I see myself as a hybrid mix of artist and scientist; one who tries to relate the minutiae of the natural world- leaf, feather and beetle wing- to the abstract dimensions of the Earth’s dynamic systems” (johnwolseley.net, Home). Wolseley himself utilises traditional techniques and mediums of watercolour, collage, frottage, nature printing and other methods of direct physical contact in his works. However, Wolseley utilises ‘natural’ mediums of art such charcoal from a camp fire, water obtained from lakes and rivers, ochres from the multi-coloured soils and dyes from native flora. Depicting the natural world through an almost scientific lens, Wolseley’s art often suggests a form of mapping or survey and the delicate relationship between human civilisation and the natural world. Adopting characteristics of cartography, the landscape is depicted from varying viewpoints: a broad aerial perspective coupled with an intimate close up view of that particular landscape, meticulously written texts are annotated on the sides. These side passages are commonly found in scientific journals and diagrams; Wolseley’s drawings of the microscopic natural forms are scientifically accurate and illustrated with scrupulous precision. In recent years, a majority of Wolseley’s work has been concerning the evolution of the Earth’s exterior through continental drift as portrayed in the Tasmania to Patagonia 1996 exhibition: Tracing the southern continents and the 2001 installation Tracing the Wallace Line. The exhibitions scrutinised the metamorphism of the Earth’s geological structure over time and the notable impact of the evolution of microcosmic world on the macroscopic scope. These projects investigated the movement of the land and incorporated detailed paintings, drawings and installations that identified the minutiae of natural forms to the abstract dimensions of geology.
By repeatedly immersing himself in foreign destinations, Wolseley discovered new methods of relating to the land, which resulted in the founding of original artistic practices and techniques. Wolseley’s unique practice of rubbing paper against burnt tree branches and releasing papers into the wind, which he collects numerous months later, completely relinquishing full creative reign to the course of nature. Other distinctive methods include burying paper and canvas in soil and unearthing them several years later, a remarkable technique that creates unique patterns that are visible in many of Wolseley’s works. This collaboration of time and soil permits the natural elements to physically alter the works, whether it be the staining or the fragmentation of paper due to insects and decomposers. Artworks such as The Spore-Bearing Bodies of Cyttaria in Tasmania and Patagonia and their Nothofagus Hosts (1996) were created by detached sheets of paper that were illustrated over his various expeditions to outback Australia, collected after many months and arranged into a mosaic-like, large scale works that are typically attached to a canvas that Wolseley then paints to homogenise the paintings. His extensive travelling endeavours across the continent consists of Wolseley’s insistence to experience first-hand the land, he will camp in the landscape for extended amounts of time as his beliefs attest to the shattering of that strict barrier between artist and his subject. Relying on olfactory, visual and sensory senses, he completely immerses himself and this isolation from industrial civilisation enables him to intimately observe nature in its course. Once satisfied and sated with his experience, Wolseley will begin to physically document and draw the flora, fauna and landforms around him: tracks of bush ants and animals, seeds in pods, weathered and abandoned vehicles and other insignificant discarded items by civilisation.
Wolseley expresses his desire for the audience to glimpse and experience the passion and exhilaration of encountering new country. Wolseley distinguishes himself from other non-indigenous artists in Australia by plunging into the depths of Australian landscape as he criticises that “most work about landscape is mostly done within a day car’s drive from the big metropolises”. At the birth of his extensive and successful art career, the amalgamation of images that admire the beauty the artist found in nature starkly contrast to the post war era, which resulted in rapid mechanization of industries. Society began to employ machines in the workplace and the very definition of the workplace was revolutionized, unlike the conventional stream of workers, Wolseley delved deep into the landscape. Throughout his artistic career, numerous artists have influenced Wolseley throughout his profession including Ian Fairweather, Mark Tobey, Fre Williams, Samuel Palmer, J.M Turner, Eugene Von Duerard, Fiona Hall, Bea Maddock and Paul Nash.
Once settled in Australia, Wolseley continued to assume the role of an explorer, constantly seeking new locations and embarking upon the study of landscapes and threatened ecosystems. Entranced by the Australian interior, particularly the desert regions, Wolseley made numerous long winded journey throughout Australia, commencing in 1980 with his comprehensive exploration of central Australia, followed in 1984 by a trip to the north west of Australia. Wolseley had established a deep interest in the natural world and expressed this by receiving an Honorary PhD from Macquarie University, Sydney in 2005 in the course of Doctor of Science; thus reflecting his profound knowledge and continual interest of natural history, botany and ornithology. Wolseley is a devout conservationist and an outspoken advocate about the imperativeness of maintaining respect for the planet as conveyed through his works.
Since his debut at the London in 1959, followed by the Royal Academy in 1960, Wolseley’s work has appeared in an increasing list of solo and group exhibitions. Multiple honours in the Trustees of Art Gallery of NSW Watercolour prize have been bestowed upon Wolseley, other awards include the Visual Arts Board Emeritus Award, Australia Council (2005), Kedumba Art Award (1992)
A prevalent presence in Wolseley’s works is the meticulous detail that he employs to convey his wanderings and observations as he journeyed across Australia. Wolseley stated: “I see myself as a hybrid mix of artist and scientist; one who tries to relate the minutiae of the natural world- leaf, feather and beetle wing- to the abstract dimensions of the Earth’s dynamic systems” (johnwolseley.net, Home). Wolseley himself utilises traditional techniques and mediums of watercolour, collage, frottage, nature printing and other methods of direct physical contact in his works. However, Wolseley utilises ‘natural’ mediums of art such charcoal from a camp fire, water obtained from lakes and rivers, ochres from the multi-coloured soils and dyes from native flora. Depicting the natural world through an almost scientific lens, Wolseley’s art often suggests a form of mapping or survey and the delicate relationship between human civilisation and the natural world. Adopting characteristics of cartography, the landscape is depicted from varying viewpoints: a broad aerial perspective coupled with an intimate close up view of that particular landscape, meticulously written texts are annotated on the sides. These side passages are commonly found in scientific journals and diagrams; Wolseley’s drawings of the microscopic natural forms are scientifically accurate and illustrated with scrupulous precision. In recent years, a majority of Wolseley’s work has been concerning the evolution of the Earth’s exterior through continental drift as portrayed in the Tasmania to Patagonia 1996 exhibition: Tracing the southern continents and the 2001 installation Tracing the Wallace Line. The exhibitions scrutinised the metamorphism of the Earth’s geological structure over time and the notable impact of the evolution of microcosmic world on the macroscopic scope. These projects investigated the movement of the land and incorporated detailed paintings, drawings and installations that identified the minutiae of natural forms to the abstract dimensions of geology.
By repeatedly immersing himself in foreign destinations, Wolseley discovered new methods of relating to the land, which resulted in the founding of original artistic practices and techniques. Wolseley’s unique practice of rubbing paper against burnt tree branches and releasing papers into the wind, which he collects numerous months later, completely relinquishing full creative reign to the course of nature. Other distinctive methods include burying paper and canvas in soil and unearthing them several years later, a remarkable technique that creates unique patterns that are visible in many of Wolseley’s works. This collaboration of time and soil permits the natural elements to physically alter the works, whether it be the staining or the fragmentation of paper due to insects and decomposers. Artworks such as The Spore-Bearing Bodies of Cyttaria in Tasmania and Patagonia and their Nothofagus Hosts (1996) were created by detached sheets of paper that were illustrated over his various expeditions to outback Australia, collected after many months and arranged into a mosaic-like, large scale works that are typically attached to a canvas that Wolseley then paints to homogenise the paintings. His extensive travelling endeavours across the continent consists of Wolseley’s insistence to experience first-hand the land, he will camp in the landscape for extended amounts of time as his beliefs attest to the shattering of that strict barrier between artist and his subject. Relying on olfactory, visual and sensory senses, he completely immerses himself and this isolation from industrial civilisation enables him to intimately observe nature in its course. Once satisfied and sated with his experience, Wolseley will begin to physically document and draw the flora, fauna and landforms around him: tracks of bush ants and animals, seeds in pods, weathered and abandoned vehicles and other insignificant discarded items by civilisation.
Wolseley expresses his desire for the audience to glimpse and experience the passion and exhilaration of encountering new country. Wolseley distinguishes himself from other non-indigenous artists in Australia by plunging into the depths of Australian landscape as he criticises that “most work about landscape is mostly done within a day car’s drive from the big metropolises”. At the birth of his extensive and successful art career, the amalgamation of images that admire the beauty the artist found in nature starkly contrast to the post war era, which resulted in rapid mechanization of industries. Society began to employ machines in the workplace and the very definition of the workplace was revolutionized, unlike the conventional stream of workers, Wolseley delved deep into the landscape. Throughout his artistic career, numerous artists have influenced Wolseley throughout his profession including Ian Fairweather, Mark Tobey, Fre Williams, Samuel Palmer, J.M Turner, Eugene Von Duerard, Fiona Hall, Bea Maddock and Paul Nash.