Jamie North
Australia b.1971

Portal 2022
Cement, ash, slag, expanded clay, graphite, organic matter and plants native to Queensland
Courtesy: The Renshaws, Brisbane

Two tall columns stand sentinel at the threshold of an imaginary garden. Composed of cast concrete with aggregates including industrial remains, Portal 2022 offers an unlikely home to an ecosystem of plants indigenous to Brisbane – including Ficus rubiginosa (rusty fig) and Platycerium bifurcatum (elkhorn fern) – which appear, slowly and against the odds, to be taking hold.

Over time, the natural and man-made elements of North’s sculptures become entwined. Vines climb the towering structures, offering moments of lush growth cradled by the crumbling concrete forms. The result is what North refers to as ‘a living sculptural system’ which will evolve in unplanned ways over the exhibition’s duration.

As we engage with the plant life embedded in this work, we participate in the reciprocal exchange of gases (oxygen and carbon dioxide) that is the sustaining feature of our interdependent relationship with the natural world.

As if gesturing to this invisible circulation of air, the offshoots of the plants resemble the branching bronchioles and alveoli of a pair of lungs. At a time when nature is under threat, these plant communities harbour the potential for regeneration, suggesting nature’s enduring resilience.

This project has been assisted by the Australian Government through the Australia Council, its arts funding and advisory body.