NGV Limited Edition - Christine Johnson, Eremophila

Solar plate engraving
Approximately A2 in size

Eremophila, 2022, is part of a larger body of work inspired by Eileen Ramsay (1886–1961), a Mallee botanist whose steps Johnson has been retracing since first seeing her specimen folio at the Mildura Arts Centre. With the help of local plant enthusiasts Marion and Peter Lang, Johnson searched the Murray River region to identify which flora from Ramsay’s list still grew in their natural ecosystem. One such specimen was eremophila, a desert-loving plant endemic to Australia that is considered sacred by various Indigenous communities and prized for its medicinal qualities.

Johnson creates layered images from her finely rendered drawings by combining digital and intaglio processes. The image is at once a celebration of the hardy plant and a plea for its conservation. With over 250 sub-species that have evolved to withstand harsh and arid conditions, many of the genus are now under threat from habitat loss caused by land-clearing, mining and farming practices.

‘The simple act of drawing deepens my contemplation of the miracles of nature’, explains Johnson. ‘It is through nature we can find our place in the continuum of beauty and mystery that the first peoples of this country have always known.’

Christine Johnson Eremophila 2022; solar plate engraving, ed. 1/15. Commissioned by the National Gallery of Victoria, Melbourne, 2022
© Christine Johnson

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