Loïque Allain

Cornish Hill Reserve 2023
linocut on Shiramine paper; edition 1/5
Courtesy of the artist

Artist statement: 

The creative process for this work began from walking regularly in Cornish Hill Reserve.

Cornish Hill Reserve is in Daylesford on Dja Dja Wurrung Country. It was heavily mined from the 1850s to the early 1900s. The land was then inhabited by goats, cows, and other wildlife. In the 1990s local residents rallied against it becoming a residential development and now there is a group, Friends of Cornish Hill, who take care of the land with some local school involvement. The development of Cornish Hill Reserve is an ongoing issue.

I then carved the lino and meditated on weaving myself into the landscape. Carving lino in this large format gives me a sense of freedom and expansiveness that translates visually to my emotional engagement in the land. Through exposing changes in the perspective of the landscape, I endeavor to convey our connections with it.