Redgum (Heart of the Forest)

Melinda Jane is a central Victorian artist and creative art therapist, whose work investigates the nature of Self and of human connection while defining ecological relationships that inform an inner emotional world and relational attunement. Using both metaphor and a phenomenological sense of being in the world, she weaves together cultural identity, ecological responsibility and a sense of belonging into her work.

Informed by shapes and motifs of the natural environment and patterns of decay and regrowth, her intimate works draw the viewer into quiet contemplation and an unspoken dialogue with the details of the other-than-human world as well as with our own inward geography. Visual symbols, as well as personal and collective metaphors inform her creative process- juxtaposing her internal world with the exterior landscape.

“I allow myself to be open to a visual conversation with materials, to access the transformational nature of artmaking and my own sovereignty; of moving towards an authentic self through the language of creative practice.

Art making is a significant part of the human experience for me- it anchors me but also encourages me to question the nature of existence.”