
Terry Donaldson
Primarily working with coastal landscapes, my focus is on the idea of nature-connectedness and the apparent tension between the needs of people and natural processes which has led to us becoming disconnected from nature. Through my work I endeavour to depict the beauty and fragility of the natural environment, to help people notice details in the landscape and invite them to engage more deeply with it.
My practice involves the collection, hand processing and use of local earth pigments to colour cloth. Precious and valuable materials, despite their humble origins, they link directly to place, representing a surprisingly beautiful outcome given some of the bleaker starting points. These are augmented with mineral pigments, and a mix of digital photography, screen printing, collagraph and monoprint, with hand-inked elements.
Textures and marks observed in fragile coastal landscapes inform print and stitch. The use of hand-made nets is often intrinsic to the work, speaking to the contradiction between our need to control our coastal environment and our essential interconnectedness with the natural world, linking back to the traditional skills and industries of the coast.