Lowland Grassland

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Presented across Hobart CBD, Pip Jones’ Lowland Grassland saw the return of some of the region’s native grass species to the streets of Hobart.

Prior to European arrival, much of Hobart’s urban area was a sweep of grasses; broad plains of spiny rushes and poas, and lowlands speckled with the heads of tussocks. Known as the Lowland Grasslands Complex, this plant community was once widespread in the Hobart region, however today it exists in fragmented pockets under threat of development and colonising weeds.

By reconstituting Hobart’s Lowland Grasslands Complex in the urban environment, Jones invited us to question idealised notions of how green spaces should appear. Rather than creating an edifying monument to “untouched wilderness” as an object distinct from social and cultural frameworks, Lowland Grassland traced provenance and recognised the role of the human hand in maintaining landscape, both in Indigenous and non-Indigenous constructed environments.

Lowland Grassland concluded with a community event, during which a portion of the exhibited plants were distributed to the public. The remaining plants were donated to the Tasmanian Aboriginal Centre to be used for revegetation works at piyura kitina (Risdon Cove).

address
artists
Pip Jones – Artist
partners
Tasmanian Aboriginal Centre