Framing nature presented McClelland’s historical collection and recent acquisitions, augmented by key loaned works, to explore diverse visual and conceptual images of nature. Previously considered a mere backdrop for human drama, the landscape became an artistic subject in its own right only recently and is often defined by notions of the picturesque and sublime. Yet in the context of escalating environmental catastrophe it has become necessary to overcome the aesthetic appreciation of nature in pictorial and subjective terms. This exhibition presented the varied representations and conceptualisations of nature that might inform such a reappraisal, preparing for a deeper understanding of our complex relationship to the natural environment.

Image: Siri Hayes, Wanderer above a sea of images 2008, chromogenic print 108.0 x 135.0cm. Collection of Monash University Museum of Art. Courtesy the artist and Monash University Museum of Art.