Grafted Lineages

This series of altered photographs is connected to the body of work Studies in Attachment, for the group exhibition Into the Fold (Xchanges Gallery, April 2026). The series documents grafted trees found throughout Victoria, focusing on the sections of the trunks where the trees were connected. Akin to adopted people, grafted trees have been cut from their roots and connected to the trunk and roots of a different species of tree, which nurtures them into maturity (with varying outcomes). Each pairing of trees in the series seems to have responded to their merging in different ways. On some, the connection point appears to show a rupture and scarring, while others show a clean delineation. Some mergings between species are somewhat camouflaged, while others show a striking difference in the textures of their bark.

The blacked out (redacted) backgrounds amplify a sense of disconnection, while also inviting contemplation on the intimacy of the texture and form of the merged trees. Are we looking at two trees or one? What gifts does each lineage of tree bring to the other, and how, if at all, do their needs differ, even into maturity?