MATERIALS: Leaves, plastic.

This piece is an exploration of the natural artistry found in nature and expressed through patterning in leaves.

The sun, animals, fungi and bacteria all play their role in the etching of unique patterns onto the dermis of the leaves once they have fallen from their parent trees. Falling from the tree usually marks the end of the life cycle of a leaf but at closer interaction, the life of the leaf continues to morph. The piece includes two camouflaged elements, chlorophyll printed leaves as well as ornamental plastic leaves. The chlorophyll print series depicts close familial ancestors, weaving in the notion of ancestral presence and memory which is present and imbued within nature and botanical material. The ornamental plastic leaves bring to the forefront the conversation about the presence of non-biological material within natural spaces. This is as a result of our collective loss of connection to the natural world and thus the absence of respect and consideration of its essential place in our lives and the degradation of natural reserves due to human activity.

Mizimu/Misamu gives voice to the non sentient or non living as a way to connect with multiple ancestral realities and the symbiosis between natural elements and human elements. Leaves are used as voices rather than materials. Each leaf was selected as a voice based on its form, function or message. Form alludes to the aesthetic/visual expression of the leaf, the colour, patterning, serration, degradation, texture. Function is in relation to the way in which communities in which the plants are found relate to/use the plant, for example Musekese (Piliostigma thonningii) is a tree with fibrous bark and edible pods. Its presence is used to indicate good soil, in female initiation rites and for medicinal purposes in which the root is crushed and infused with water, then held in the mouth as a remedy for toothache. Message alludes to an imagined conversation betweenthe artist and the leaf, in which similarities and differences are discussed in the quest towards forming a bond of union