Fiona Hall- Fern Garden

ART, NATURE AND TECHNOLOGY

Fiona hall was commissioned to make a work for the sculpture garden at the National Gallery (Canberra) which began construction in 1998. 58 mature Dicksonia antarctica tree ferns were planted which were said to be at least 200 years old. The garden is spiral shaped and based on a fern frond, which is said to be a symbol of healing and rejuvenation. One enters the garden through a wrought steel gate which is said to be a representation of the female reproductive system. Dicksonia antarctica are found along the east coast of Australia and Tasmania. As they are so old they have withstood the arrival of the white man to the country and the disappearance of the aboriginal peoples.

'Fiona Hall sees gardens as being, essentially, about the relationship between the body and the natural world, and that the use of space in the world through architecture and gardens is a history of how people relate to the world around them at the most fundamental level.'
Rebecca Corbell, 'A discussion with Fiona Hall', artonview, summer 1997–98

Information and picture derived from : http://nga.gov.au/sculpturegarden/fern.cfm