Bronwyn maps out her solo exhibition

Bronwyn Davies
Bronwyn Davies

AUSTRALIA’S natural history and its complex relationship with the environment are explored in Bronwyn Davies’ solo exhibition Maps and Traces.

Bronwyn has prepared over 80 mixed media drawings and paintings, including large works on paper celebrating iconic trees that she says carry stories of survival, loss and the fragility of landscapes shaped by time, tradition, and human intervention. 

The exhibition includes works on vintage, travel, orthographic, cadastral and tourist maps.  

Bronwyn explores stories that have been unspoken or forgotten. 

In Maps and Traces, she uses  maps, objects, stitching and installation works to mark and trace the impact of these stories.

 Building on the foundations of her 2021 exhibition ‘In Consideration of Trees’, Bronwyn has continued to explore the connections between trees, place, and human history. 

As part of her participation in the Bob Brown Foundation’s Art for Tarkayna program in Tasmania’s Tarkine forest, she immersed herself in one of the world’s last remaining cool temperate  Gondwanan rainforests, where the fight against logging and mining underscored the urgency of her work. 

The resulting group exhibition at Salamanca Art Centre planted the seeds for ‘If Trees Could Talk’, a deeply personal and expansive project that forms the basis of her current exhibition. 

Over several years, Davies embarked on a journey across Australia, traveling from the mouth of the Murray River in South Australia to the far reaches of North Queensland, tracing the stories of iconic trees and the layered histories they hold.

She undertook residencies at the Tanks Arts Centre in Cairns, Mount Barney Lodge, Wild Mountains and the National Trust home of environmentalist Marie Byles, collecting photographs, sketches, and research, forging a body of work steeped in ecological and cultural reflection. 

By giving voice to the landscapes she has traversed, Bronwyn invites viewers to ponder the power of trees and the stories that have unfolded beneath their ancient boughs.

Now working from her studio on Tamborine Mountain, she distills these experiences into Maps and Traces, a contemplative exhibition that weaves together history, memory, and environment.

About Keer Moriarty 41 Articles
Editor, journo, social media manager and tea lady with Canungra Times.