This body of work has been developed over the last two years as part of an ongoing series on paper. The series engages with existing histories and palimpsests from mounted plant specimens, collected and reworked by Claudine Marzik. The artist was inspired by her work as a volunteer at the Australian Tropical Herbarium at James Cook University in Cairns, remounting plant specimens which had been collected in the region around Weipa, Cape York Peninsula. The process required a careful removal of the plant material from the original backing sheets and a remounting onto museum-standard, archival sheets. The collected plant material had left imprints and shadows on the original paper as “faint memories of themselves”, which caught Marzik’s attention. The generosity of the team at the Herbarium enabled the artist to collect the original sheets and rework the inspiring originals into new works.

Read Claudine's exhibition catalogue here and her invitation here.

Exhibitions launch 
6pm Friday 21 April 2023
Claudine Marzik - The Body Language of Plants will open at 6pm by Professor Stephen Naylor with speeches from approximately 6:30pm. The Body Language of Plants will open alongside Susan Peters Nampitjin - Tungkurl, Erica Muriata - Midja and Caleb Cameron - Deeply Decayed. Please join us to celebrate these artists and works. 

Umbrella Floortalk
10am Saturday 22 April
Join Umbrella and artists Claudine Marzik, Susan Peters Nampitjin and Caleb Cameron for a discussion about their exhibitions and their art practices. Read the full details here.

Botany x Art Workshop
9:30am-12:30pm Sunday 23 April 2023
Join exhibiting artist Claudine Marzik and botanist Prof Betsy Rivers Jackes for an exceptional opportunity to engage with local plant life at the intersection of science and art! Read the full details and book here.

Claudine Marzik migrated from Basel, Switzerland, to Cairns in 1988. She is best known for her large-scale abstract works of Far North Queensland’s unique landscape and botanicals. She has recently been working on varied series of works, including The Body Language of Plants and another addressing the specific concern of extreme seasonal changes and their effects on the environment. She has held major exhibitions within Australia and overseas including travelling exhibitions. Marzik has been a finalist and winner of many art awards and her work has been acquired by public collections, various regional galleries, Artbank and private collections.