THEA JONES



Jane’s Salvation (Paterson’s Curse)

Exhibited on Wurundjeri country
TCB, Melbourne VIC
5 - 22 April 2017
 I used to have nightmares this house was never ending
That I could crawl down into the darkest dusty corners.
I'd run giggling up the hill where the hanging rock is missing
Kengal - Lion of the Plains

I went back there with you, remember
Standing on Wiradjuri land,
We searched half-heartedly for the fallen rock.

This place is more important for my mother, here
I made the saddest childhood friend.
She told me "life's a bitch and then you die"
Atop a stack of hay bales at sunset.

Jane’s salvation and Paterson’s curse are both colloquial names for Echium plantagineum, an invasive species introduced to Australia in the 1800’s. It’s said that the seeds were introduced by Jane Paterson in an attempt to beautify her garden near Albury, NSW. The weed has now infested much of the countryside throughout southeastern Australia. It can be recognised by its vividly coloured flowers appearing as a carpet of purple across the paddocks.


WORKS:

Thea Jones
Wagga Blanket for Ariadne, 2017
Wool and hessian 
4x4m

Thea Jones
Jane's Salvation (Paterson's Curse), 2017
Eucalyptus oil & pigment
Dimensions variable

Images courtesy Christian Capurro.



I live and work on the unceded sovereign lands of the Dja Dja Wurrung people. I acknowledge the waterways, country and skies, and offer my respects to elders and communities that have sustained creativity, care for country and resistance for more than 65,000 years.