Denise Batchelor is a visual artist based in the Hokianga. Working primarily in digital media, both still and moving image, Batchelor’s work reflects personal encounters within nature; quiet moments of reflection within which deeper connections can be experienced.
Estranged Exhibition September/October 2017
Tidal Offerings
In contemplating the subject ‘estranged’, a myriad of associations arise. One can be estranged from family, from country, or in some cases, from reality. Alienation, separation, division, and loss are all elements that come to mind. As I become more immersed in this work, I realize there exists another kind of estrangement, one that is part of a natural order.
The shoreline represents a visceral and fluid meeting of ocean with land. It is here that my focus rests, scouting as far as the eye can see for the stranded, washed ashore. Recently dislodged from their aqueous origins, the ebb and flow of the tides never fail to deliver. Always there is a trace of something left behind. Deposited high on the shore by stormy seas or king tides, it is the terminal conclusion of a natural life span.
Retrieved and regenerated, these forms hold the memory of a more fluid time.