When art is a question of life and death

Multi-disciplinary artist Janet Laurence reflects on what has changed in her 30-year journey of working with nature, and why Australia is still so far behind when it comes to healing and wellbeing.
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Janet Laurence, Deep Breathing: Resuscitation for the Reef, 2015–16 / 2019, installation view at Janet Laurence: After Nature, Museum of Contemporary Art Australia, Sydney, 2019. Image courtesy and © the artist. Photo credit: Jacquie Manning.

After Nature is artist Janet Laurence’s first major survey, and tracks 30 years of her career since the 1990s. The exhibition has evolved from two decades of collaboration between Laurence and MCA Chief Curator Rachel Kent, who curated Laurence’s exhibition Muses at the Ian Potter Museum of Art, The University of Melbourne in 2000.

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Gina Fairley is ArtsHub's National Visual Arts Editor. For a decade she worked as a freelance writer and curator across Southeast Asia and was previously the Regional Contributing Editor for Hong Kong based magazines Asian Art News and World Sculpture News. Prior to writing she worked as an arts manager in America and Australia for 14 years, including the regional gallery, biennale and commercial sectors. She is based in Mittagong, regional NSW. Twitter: @ginafairley Instagram: fairleygina