Simryn Gill

The subject of Clearing is a palm tree that used to grow outside the Art Gallery. The tree was a Canary Island date palm introduced to Australia as an ornamental tree in the 19th century. Look at the trees in your area. Choose a tree to research, and present your findings to the class.

Look at all the individual artworks that make up Clearing. Can you identify what part of the tree each one records? Do you think the artist has been successful in capturing the essence of the whole tree?

The artist uses a technique called frottage, which involves creating a rubbing of a textured surface. What is captured by using this technique? What is lost?

Explore your school environment, investigating the sounds, smells and textures you encounter. Take photographs, sketch and make notes about this environment, looking at small details and exploring textures and colours.

Select a specific area and write down a list of descriptive words that capture your feeling of being in this place – for example, shady, dry, hot, humid. Share your list with friends and see if you have similar words.

Choose five different textures from this area and make rubbings of each. Bring them back to your classroom and create a collage, drawing over the textures, adding more details as well as some of your descriptive words. Display in class.

Clearing is a response to the removal of a palm tree that was planted in front of the Art Gallery in 1906 by the former government botanist and director of the Botanical Gardens Joseph Maiden. Research the cultural and horticultural histories connected to this site and tree. What does Gill’s artwork unearth? What stories does it record?

Clearing is made up of a series of rubbings, with a life-sized impression of the palm tree at its centre. Consider the media Gill uses in her practice and the use of frottage in this work. How does this technique contribute to the conceptual framework of the work and its interpretation?

Gill explores both the personal and the collective experience of place and history. Explore your immediate environment, collecting organic and found materials that you connect with. Organise these into an artwork which reflects your personal response to a larger idea.

What is botanical art? Compare it with Gill’s practice. Research the various species of palm trees and create a series of botanical drawings using pencil and watercolour, labelling each plant with its scientific name.