The work: Tilly Myers, Botantical Elecebra, 2021. Acrylic on canvas, 150 x 100cm. Courtesy: the artist.
The scale, colour and intricate detail of Tilly Myers’ Botanical Elecebra is almost overpowering, much like the Australian bush from which it draws its imagery. Depicting a menagerie of native flora, the work uses a profusion of bold lines in shades of red and purple to submerge us in an otherworldly wonderland, embracing the innate peculiarities of Australian plant life. Gum leaves erupt like starbursts above banksia pods, and snaking branches trail in and out of sight, seeming to escape the bounds of the canvas and mimicking the seemingly endless landscape of the bush. A collection of waratahs populate the lower section of the piece, their petals delicately executed in an almost art deco style, referencing the luxury and elegance of the early 20th century. Each bulb and leaf has a part to play, instilled with a sense of personality that makes it worthy of individual study. By stylising such recognisable species, Myers seeks not to simply act as a dispassionate botanist who replicates the natural world, but rather works to capture the dynamism of the landscape: “If you feel a sense of wonder and escapism in the aesthetic,” she says, “the art is doing its job.”