MacDougall’s exhibition takes us on a walk through a forest guided by narrative threads, turning her watchful and whimsical gaze towards the innate power of trees. Utilising Greek Mythology, she is urges us to think about the essential roles that trees and forests play in our lives and psyches. Arbornauts Revisited explores a mythical and complex interaction.
MacDougall’s close connectivity to nature comes from a life-long love of gardening. Her green fingers are evident in her Remuera townhouse oasis. She acknowledges the beauty and visually arresting character of plants and trees, but also considers trees as both symbols and living organisms. Concerned about changing climates, the devastation wrought by global deforestation and shrinking biodiversity,
The Greeks have believed for millennium that nature is positively alive with the spirits that reside there, and so does MacDougall. The serenity that comes from sitting beneath a tree on a pleasant afternoon or your racing heart beat felt in a dark forest at night are not random emotions. The trees are truly alive with more than you may prefer to believe. According to legend, the ability to inspire strong emotions was the gift of the dryads. Everywhere they and their fellow nymphs existed, they were able to touch humans with this gift.
MacDougall’s close connectivity to nature comes from a life-long love of gardening. Her green fingers are evident in her Remuera townhouse oasis. She acknowledges the beauty and visually arresting character of plants and trees, but also considers trees as both symbols and living organisms. Concerned about changing climates, the devastation wrought by global deforestation and shrinking biodiversity,
The Greeks have believed for millennium that nature is positively alive with the spirits that reside there, and so does MacDougall. The serenity that comes from sitting beneath a tree on a pleasant afternoon or your racing heart beat felt in a dark forest at night are not random emotions. The trees are truly alive with more than you may prefer to believe. According to legend, the ability to inspire strong emotions was the gift of the dryads. Everywhere they and their fellow nymphs existed, they were able to touch humans with this gift.