John Scott

Biography

Profile:
John Scott is a contemporary Australian artist engaged in interpreting the landscape using both 2-D images and 3-D soft sculptures to create both abstract and representational in some cases symbolic forms of art. His practice has spanned close to 40 years.
Artist's statement:
Bridging Art, Nature, science and philosophy.

Learning to listen and feel nature as opposed to just seeing the surface led me to much deeper undercurrents and a greater understanding of how interdependent we are within our natural environment needed for human health.

Often in a fast paced toxic world surrounded by man-made built environments quickly disconnects us from the natural world. The deeper I went into the microcosm of nature, macrocosmic elements manifested into my oeuvre.
I was guided to one specific area, fungus - about 30 years ago.
Mushrooms are the fruiting body of a much vaster underground mycorrhizal network system connecting trees through tiny threads called mycelium. These root systems have been scientifically proven to communicate, transport and distribute nutrients to whole forests keeping them healthy. The ant kingdom often stores and farms fungus feeding whole colonies underground.
Globally we have the internet mimicking the actual structure of the mychorrhizal root networks in nature. Our desk P.C. Mirrors the fruiting body; the global internet mirrors the vast root systems. Forests also have “hub trees” sometimes called 'mother trees' that are powerful distributors of nutrients to plants that are struggling. Just like nature the internet hubs distribute huge amounts of information instantly.
Japanese scientists are now using mycelium grown in petri dishes to recreate new organic 'maps' for aged and clogged city transport systems. Engineers apply the maps resulting in faster thoroughfares.

By listening to the health of nature it reminds us of how interdependent we are with nature including our own health as a species.