Gilded Cage

Spending time in the cold climate rainforests of Lutruwita (Tasmania) Rachel Honnery wonders why governments selectively preserve one part of nature but then allow the destruction of another? The Eucalyptus regnans is a majestic giant, the world’s tallest flowering plant and yet it is still being logged in Tasmania. Occasionally forestry preserves a specimen tree or a remnant of forest. Why not preserve it all? Why log old growth forests that are full of ancient wonder? Honnery’s work “Gilded Cage”, endeavours to grapple with this rabid destruction. This artwork is a triptych made from knitted brass wire, jute string and old decaying tree branches. Using the concept of “nature” living inside a gilded cage, this work examines the beautiful, the precious, the exotic being trapped by splendour and without freedom, ultimately coming to a demise. Becoming an allegory for how we treat and preserve nature.