The work: Annie Kavanagh, #1 The Homecoming from Pas de deux (Part 2), 2021. Print on Hannemuehle rag paper, edition of 3 + AP, 70 x 70cm. Courtesy: the artist.
“Flowers speak their own language,” says artist Annie Kavanagh. “A universal language of beauty, loss, joy, fear and hope that transcends borders and cultures.” Based on Roselyn Farm in the Wheatbelt of Western Australia, Kavanagh grounds her practice in her connection with her house and its surrounding flora. Spending much of her time re-seeding and planting the colonial-era cutting garden as well as rewilding the home’s surrounds, her sense of connection with nature is palpable in her works.
In this work we see part of an ongoing narrative of two moths coming together in a nightly dance, softly floating among delicate petals and stems. Both her insect protagonists and their floral backdrop were sourced from her garden, carefully collected, dried and photographed. Their story speaks to the importance of insect pollinators and their slow disappearance from the Wheatbelt. Her flowers create what she describes as a visual story, emerging from the deep night to confront the audience with both their elemental beauty and innate frailty. Yet, whilst the delicacy of flora and fauna of The Homecoming from Pas de deux is palpable, there is also a sense of joy and hope, as the moths return once again to renew their nocturnal labours.