SLOW TO
THE TREES
Date: 16 December 2024 – 15 January 2025
Location: Artisan, Machinery Street Gallery (Meanjin/Brisbane)
Detail/Materials: porcelain, wire, reclaimed textiles (5.3 x 2.4 metres)
Slow To The Trees is a site-specific installation by artist Fiona Harding, composed entirely of hand-built elements shaped through deliberately slow processes. This method acts as a quiet counterpoint to the efficiency-driven ethos of capitalist productivity. Functioning as a conduit between audience and environment, the work centers on an acknowledgment of trees as ancient beings whose wisdom and presence long predate humanity.
The phrase “slow to the trees” emerged from a lucid dream and was selected in response to the gallery’s urban context: its dual audience of pedestrians and motorists, the surrounding street trees, and the exhibition’s placement during the festive season. Within the work, text operates as both directive and invitation – subverting the language of window advertising while borrowing the visual economy and authority of road signage. High-contrast materials are employed to capture the attention of those passing by.
