Gieo duyên - Planting conditions

An evolving participatory installation,
presented as a solo exhibition as part of the Commendation Prize at Gallery M, South Australia

This exhibition is part of my ongoing journey toward non-self and interconnectedness, toward duyên: the invisible web of conditions that brings things into being. Drawing from Buddhism and mindfulness practice, this garden emerges through spontaneity, intuition, timing, and trust, through the imperceptible art of gieo duyên: planting conditions and allowing life to respond.

With a little recklessness and a lot of faith, this space becomes a playground for aimlessness and non-attachment. After years of solitary making and carefully delivering “final” artwork, this garden chooses another rhythm. It lets go of control, ego, expectation, meaning, and authorship. Here, I tend the soil, plant a seed, and step back to watch what unfolds.

At its heart is the garden as metaphor: an inheritance shaped by memory, culture, relationships, and unseen social energies. Each of us carries such a garden with its own seeds, seasons, and creatures. Our practice is to nurture it. When enough duyên gathers, sunshine, rain, patience, and butterflies from another garden, things begin to blossom.

Materially, this space gathers a handful of my own seeds: partly formed works grown slowly through mindful making. Each mark carries presence. Wire reaches outward. Found objects gather. Frames are contributed. Yarns are gifted. These materials arrive as duyên from life itself, becoming companions in the work.

And still, the making continues through you. This textile-based installation invites you to gieo duyên: to engage, add, move, connect, and respond, to offer yourself as you are. There is no need to find a “finished” garden here. You are invited to enjoy each small gesture of growing, peacefully and playfully.

Nothing here exists in isolation. These works are neither unfinished nor complete, but momentarily whole. Like a garden, like ourselves, they exist through interdependence. We are each one condition among many, shaping and being shaped, together.