Jess Poulsen is an artist living on the land of the Bundjalung Nation.
She is custodian of a large wild forest that backs onto the World Heritage Gondwana forest of Nightcap National Park.
Here she has her bush studio, making work that reflects her concern over habitat loss and its conservation.
Poulsen collects wild clay, vines, sticks, stones, bones. She weaves, builds, plants and collects seeds. Referencing , bush crafting, regenerative agriculture, survival skills, soil creation, mushroom cultivation.
Three years ago the property was heavily impacted by the Mt Nardi bushfires and then in February 22 the catastrophic storms cut off Poulsen and her children for a week in her valley before they were rescued. Landslides continue to isolate her property and community. Access to the studio is an hour hike over treacherous landslips.
Poulsen’s latest body of work is a reflection on shifting landscapes.The impact of climate change. The fires and floods. A process of coming to terms with the great losses( all the creek life, many giant trees, mountains are gone ) and a process of finding a way to reframe the experience.
Poulsen reflects; “most people think we shape the landscape. We build, plant, move things. But I think it shapes us. It heals us, moves us , reveals us to ourselves.”
