The Cubby Cave

The Cubby Cave, photography, Australia, 160 cm x 110 cm

The location of the structure, which I call The Cubby Cave, is pivotal to the work. It was built on my family property in rural NSW Australia. I have lived on this land from when I was two years of age, until the present day. It was built in the canopy of a fallen tree, which my Dad had cut down for firewood two winters before. The canopy of the tree landed exactly in the middle of where a grass patch had made a circular formation. There was a pathway leading up to this opening that had developed over time, by the comings and going of wild animals, most probably hares, foxes and wallabies. By reading these natural signs I decided this was the place where we would build. The construction of the Cubby Cave began in February 2014 and would continue on and off for the next year.

The initial purpose or idea for the piece was to spend time with my father and to reconnect with my cousin. We were extremely close as children, spending most holidays at his family house or my home, the place where the structure was made. When we were children we actually built a cubby house to play in. I am referencing our childhood, revisiting our past in the present. The Cubby/Cave is almost the residue, a relic of the artwork, which included the time making it, the time reconnecting with family, land and self.