Marking Time: 1836 (Pinus pinea L.). Inkjet print on Canson rag, 180cm L x 112.5cm H
Marking Time: 1761 (Fagus sylvatica L.). Inkjet print on Canson rag, 180cm L x 112.5cm H
1761 – Veduta dell Arco di Settimio Severo
Marking Time: 1974 (Quercus cerris L.). Inkjet print on Canson rag, 112.5cm x 112.5cm H
THE LAKE OF TIME: In and Beyond the Space of the Roman Forum
This interdisciplinary exhibition retraces the rich history of the Roman Forum as a meeting place, a contested site where the vestiges of time and space reveal its character. Four contemporary artists were invited by Museum and Gallery Director, Rhonda Davis to respond directly to a selection of historical master engraved prints dating from the 15th to the 20th century.
The collection of black and white historical prints were gifted to the Macquarie University Ancient History Department by Lynette Jensen in 2015 and provide a glimpse into the changing socio-political landscape of the forum and how it has been represented over time from an Arcadian romanticised dreamscape to a more politicised view.
For this project Davis worked with Italian dendrologist Dr Alfredo Di Filippo from the University of Viterbo who assisted identifying the trees depicted in three separate prints. Alfredo was able to provide core samples from each species, all growing in Rome at the time the print was made. The core sample imagery used in Davis’ work identifies the exact time the historical print was produced.
“Trees live in the same place for centuries or millennia, and their annual rings are pages of a book telling us how history flows around them. Large, old trees are monuments, whose charisma and cultural importance is recognized by local people, today as in the past. ” Dr Alfredo Di Filippo 2016
Gallery installation photography: Richard Glover
