Seeds for survival: how botanical art nurtures nature
Golden
Shells and Elegant Games of Japan publication documents the exhibition
Golden Shells and the Gentle Mastery of Japanese Lacquer, held at the
National Gallery of Victoria in 2021. The publication features two large
lacquer Kai-oke (shell boxes) containing the only known complete
kai-awase set of 720 decorated shells, separated into 360 pairs. Each
pair is depicted an Australian or Japanese flower using lacquer
painting. The artwork was commissioned by Pauline Gandel AC. (National
Gallery of Victoria, 2021)
National Gallery of Victoria. (2021). Golden Shells and Elegant Games of Japan. NGV Design Store. https://store.ngv.vic.gov.au/products/golden-shells-and-the-gentle-mastery-of-japanese-lacquer
Wandersee, J. H., & Schussler, E. E. (1999). Preventing plant blindness. The American Biology Teacher, 61(2), 82-86.
The chapter Seeds for survival; how botanical art
nurtures nature explores the relationship between art and ecological
conservation through the lens of the Golden Shells and the Gentle
Mastery of Japanese Lacquer exhibition. The chapter details a collection
of Australian wildflowers depicted within the collection including
boronias, hibiscus and wattles, exploring the symbolism of flowers
depicted on a collection of the shells, as displayed in both Japanese
and Australian culture. The chapter proposes the role that the
observation and depiction of botanicals play within art and popular
culture. This act works to diminish the dualist divide between nature
and culture to counter plant blindness (Wandersee and Schussler, 1999);
said to be our inability to see plants that we don’t already know.
ISBN 9781925432770
National Gallery of Victoria. (2021). Golden Shells and Elegant Games of Japan. NGV Design Store. https://store.ngv.vic.gov.au/products/golden-shells-and-the-gentle-mastery-of-japanese-lacquer
Wandersee, J. H., & Schussler, E. E. (1999). Preventing plant blindness. The American Biology Teacher, 61(2), 82-86.
