Traverse     2015   Single Channel video 01:11 vinyl wallpaper 3000mm diameter chromogenic print/photo collage on plywood  1100mm diameter installation detail

Traverse

Traverse explores the breadth of foliage that exists on the periphery of Mildura. Spending much of her residency at the Australian Inland Botanical Gardens, the artist has contemplated the relationship between native and introduced species as a way of thinking about place and belonging. The spectrum of rich, warm green foliage within the township lies encompassed by an endless vista of natives infused in hues of blue.

Izabela Pluta’s practice is rooted in photographic ideas central to the experience of place, the effects of time and the construction of reality. Pluta utilises diverse forms of imagery and forms which intersect with each other in their tradition, function and materiality. Through her works she constructs an imagined geography from created or found objects pertinent to understanding one’s place in the world. Her work originates from a melancholic mediation on memory; of gathering and appropriating images and artefacts to suggest an illusion that is determined by a desire for place. The relevance of these ideas to her creative interests stem from her personal history and dual nationality (Polish-Australian) as well as the notion of absence and presence in the concept ‘home’. Her works have often comprised of photographs, found ephemera and photomurals to explore the artist’s interest in serendipitous encounters, the effects of time and how the photographic image operates as a vehicle for witnessing various states of ruin.