Will Neuhaus
A vignette of forestry in the name of progress
A vignette of forestry in the name of progress is a personal reaction to a single phrase, Non-Compatible Species. Early in 2023 I received a post card in the mail professing the completion of a power-line upgrade nearby my home, this postcard referenced the "re-wilding" of the power-line right of way with compatible plant species. This small statement in an otherwise plain flyer led me to the discovery that even in a native pine forest pine trees are not considered to be "compatible." My work set out to "re-wild" the power-line by reintroducing trees to the land.
Artist Biography
Will Neuhaus is a multidisciplinary artist from Cammeraygal country in modern-day Sydney, Australia. Their work builds upon the Land Art movement, evolving towards a contemporary artist interventionist practice. Neuhaus incorporates lessons on materiality to develop a practice where the land and our interactions with it are centre stage. Neuhaus' work is heavily influenced by the earth tone palette of their youth. These colours manifest themselves in Neuhaus’ use of naturally sourced materials foraged from agriculture, forestry, and the landscape to create work that expands the creative fields of photography, painting, and drawing. They hope their work can act as a stepping off point for larger conversations around land and water use in contemporary society.
Artist statement
Through an innate connection to the land, built on a lifetime of living and recreating within the bush. As someone who grew up in within both urban and rural contexts, my work is grounded in a worldview shaped by my surroundings. In my current practice, I attempt to create work that reflects on and reacts to land system change. Thematically, my work incorporates the lessons of the land art movement within a contemporary artmaking practice. A vignette of forestry in the name of progress is intend to exist in both an outdoor artist intervention context and the current indoor installation with the aim of creating a site/non site synchronicity where neither is explicitly displayed as the primary.
How did you start your art practice?
I think my interest in art academically, grew from visiting galleries as a young child. I distinctly remember visiting the Art Gallery of New South Wales in maybe year 8 or 9 on a field trip and staring with fascination at the work of the conservators through a window situated nearby the loading dock being used for lunch. My interest in abstraction was piqued when i had the opportunity to see Cy Twombly's Roses at the Museum Brandhorst, the use of non traditional materials and marks to create drawings has continued to be a constant form of inspiration.
Instagram: @will.gov.au