Kim Godfrey is a visual artist whose contemporary artworks utilise painting, drawing and assemblage to construct narratives concerning the challenges of natural habitats.
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About
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Art Nature Travel
The wonderful thing about travel is you never know what your going to get. No matter how much planning you do it can be and usually is so delightfully different in so many ways. I always expect the unexpected when landing in a new country. Soon it will be time to travel again after going through a few (pandemic) years of being mostly at home. That excitement is now building up in me. The memories of new lands that have beckoned, where the tension and jolt of the plane hitting the tarmac and a cacophony of new sounds, smells and visual experiences await is something I long for. Meanwhile I have memories of all my previous travels along with my paintings, photographs and journals to fuel the fire to new adventures.
I’m not an expert traveller. Far from it but I give it my best shot every time. It’s about the journey for me (and Pete my travel buddy and husband) not the destination as such. A trip with a difference developed when we planned on going to Vietnam and ended up in New Delhi on our way to Kathmandu-google ads made me do it, I told Pete. I was side tracked by a “great” trip that included sailing down the Ganges towards Varanassi and sleeping on a sandbar in the middle of the river for the night-definitely a memorable experience and it was spontaneous and surprising every day.
SURPRISING, SPONTANEOUS MOMENTS
If you have ever been to the continent of India with its contrasting ways of life full of a vibrancy of visual feast of colour, sound, smell and the permeating sense of the sacred everywhere you will know what I mean by surprising, spontaneous moments. If you haven’t just go and you will be delighted.
On our first journey to India (and not the last) I knew it was on the itinerary for the Indian/Nepalese trip we were about to embark upon-sleeping in tents on the Ganges River in India in the winter. On reflection it was one of those times you say to yourself -“ I will never forget the time when………we were meandering through India ………
Meandering through India
We were meandering down a river in India. We had entered the river near Allahabad. It sits on the convergence of 3 sacred rivers-the Yamuna, Sarasvati and the Ganges where they hold the Kumbha Mela Hindu festival every 12 years. The site is a UNESCO Intangible Cultural Heritage Site. Here tens of millions of Hindu pilgrims wade into the Ganges River, seeking salvation from the eternal cycle of life and death. Holy men lead prayers and offer blessings, and devotees wash their sins away in the sacred waters and it can last up to three months. This not the year of the festival, however to think of those millions of people in one place living harmoniously for a sacred festival is amazing and so now I just try and meander through the journey -flow like a river as they say in Taoist philosophy.
Note to self: don’t let your fears limit your possibles to let life take over and show you the magic in the moment.
All day we drifted down the river on the current with our two companions and two boat rowers that navigated towards our destination of Varanassi That night on the river at the half way point to our destination was astonishing-we gazed at stars, identifying them with a Constellation App. Thank you technology -the astrological move to of the planets are interwoven into Hindu rituals and mythology with the Kumbha Mela based on the positions of Jupiter, the sun and the moon.
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Kim Godfrey Art
Kim Godfrey is an artist who travels and is inspired by nature. She has worked in art education for more than three decades.
Kim’s philosophy about making art focuses on the natural world and on the moments of reflection on the changing moods of wild and grand spaces. The perpetual ebb and flow of life on earth is captured in her images with the energy of nature evident through the vibration of colours that evoke a vast and magnificent living planet.
Art about natural habitats can transport us all to places of joy, contentment and peace. If everyone shared these feelings and love of nature we would all flourish and the world would be a better place.
Spring Day
Sun rose through the clouds
magenta, indian yellow, cobalt blue
white clouds drifting due north
reflections mirror with soft pastel hues
river flows to the sea
a journey in itself
transient nature
a joy to see
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Journeys
India is a vibrant, colourful and unique continent that has greatly inspired my art practice, my sense of adventure and my search for spiritual meaning in life.
POSTCARDS from India
Original artworks by Kim Godfrey
Vibrant, colourful and amazing, India displays a passion for life.
monsoon rains sultry and hot
kingfisher lands
a stunning azure blue and chocolate brown
a butterfly catches his eye
tiger prowling vulnerable and rare
Ganesha gives abundance and success
Lakshmi gives blessings
Kingfisher Blue
looking at me
looking at you
tiger hunting
watching silently
mother Ganga
sacred
river journey
a temple in the distance
Himalayas
cool
clear soft air
floats around
and permeates your soul
a monument to love on a steamy monsoon morning
oh so blue
the kingfisher sits
meditating
hum sa
a tigers tale
silently we go
passing a
Portuguese church
Goa
sketchbook-Tiger in collaboration with Zoe
The monument of pure love
reflecting on the Yamuna
pink glory at sunset
and night is closing in
cool quiet
reflections
on mother Ganga
I seek all that there is
the Buddha sits in meditation
reflections on the serene river
daylight is dawning near
Ganesha
elephant deity
gives abundance
Sketchbook
Ganesha
Temple deity
Lotus bowl offering
paying homage to spirit
sketchbook
tiger tales burning
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Seeing Change-Kim Godfrey
My overall aim is to raise consciousness about how humanity is connected to all there is in the universe. My artworks utilise symbols and metaphors that reach across cultural divides and time barriers to unite the human spirit with the natural environment and the world community both past and present. Through nature we see a natural process of birth, life and then to follow – death. This is the natural order of all things. Yet each and every living thing has it own place in the big scheme of things. Art, science, metaphysics, philosophy and culture all give a wide variety of perception of how the life/death process can play out.
Through using ENDANGERED and VUNERABLE bird/animal/plant species I aim to use a visual process that aligns humanity with the natural world. And to highlight that we are all VUNERABLE if not some of us endangered. My work is aiming to explore the shadow of extinction as well as an affirmative alternate that delivers hope in a changing world.
My perception is that we live in a dynamic universe, characterised by relationships of energy that are constantly exchanged and life as multi-dimentional with all living things interconnected. Through the visual arts medium I can explore that inner meaning of different dimensions as well as express the outer meanings that are tangible. This is a creative force in itself that is innate in humanity- the act of creation.
Artist’s Talk-Seeing Change by Kim Godfrey
Tweed Regional Gallery: 8th October 2017
“It is the distancing and separation of humankind from the natural world, the sense of superiority to other living beings, that enables us to perpetuate the mistaken notion that we are not subject to the same laws that govern the rest of life on earth.” David Suzuki, Time to Change, Allan and Unwin, 1993.
My interest in making this series is inspired by wilderness and wildlife and the fact that I want to see changes in humanities displacement of natural habitats. Having travelled extensively in the last 10 years I see a link between wildlife habitats all over the world and those we have here in Australia. Although we are a remote continent we do not live in isolation from the rest of the world. The Caldera Region is especially significant because of its biodiversity and we have the responsibility to protect it.
The intent in the body of work is to inform and challenge the viewer to see the immediate danger of the survival of our shore birds on Tweed Coast Estuaries in the Caldera region and to examine issues of displacement of our bird species. Birds give us a reflection of the state of the earth’s health.
Shorebirds are under siege not only in world ecology but locally as many migratory birds come here to feed before returning to the northern hemisphere to nest and breed. Our native shorebirds also feed, nest and breed here and each particular species has its own special needs to survive.
On the Tweed Coast Estuaries birds are vulnerable to human pressure because of:
- Loss or alteration of habitat
- Disturbance during nesting
- Entanglement and ingestion of lost fishing line and tackle
- Ingestion of prey items containing pollutants and storm run-off into waterways
- Fish health and availability
- Predators, (both natural and) introduced
Modern society seemingly sees the constructed world and the natural world as a mosaic of disconnected fragments rather than an integrated whole and I am aiming to reflect these ideas in the work. The work also draws heavily on my own sense of aesthetics developed over decades that is driven by my interest in contemporary art and the diversity of practices found in the arts that utilise found objects and assemblage to create artworks.
The assemblage process utilised constructs a narrative concerning the challenges the birds encounter and aims to reflect these concerns by the use of representation and symbolism. Included are objects such as identification ‘tags” to mimic scientific data collections, yet extend beyond scientific inquiry. The building blocks were juxtaposed with the watercolour images by trail and error to create a harmonious and aesthetic effect. They represent urban development and the loss of habitat that belies our childish naivety in thinking we are not doing harm to shorebirds. Our children have to live with the consequences of our naivety in not addressing climate change and urban encroachment on natural habitats.
In two of the images included is a predatory fox. Although a native in some bio diverse areas of the world is not a native to our shores. As is ‘man’s best friend’- the dog. Both can unknowingly disturb a nesting bird. It takes only 30 minutes of the parent bird to be off its nest for the embryo in the egg to fry in the hot sun and die. The raven, a native to our shores is a watchful predator and will prey on unattended nests. The Raven-sometimes seen as a symbol of impending death (the colour black can also represent this) is seen in the images as a literal and metaphoric possibility of the extinction of the shorebirds. In his poem, The Raven, Edgar Allan Poe writes;
“other friends have flown before, then the bird said ‘nevermore’- NEVERMORE is the title to one of the images.
The bird’s habitats are finite. Birds are a litmus test to the health of the earth. They are our modern “canaries”. It is therefore important for us in this region to maintain the integrity of this fragile ecosystem for all interrelated life forms, not just for our own use and pleasure.
We have the responsibility to create a sustainable future for our children.
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Caldera Art Information
The artworks in the Caldera Environment exhibition at the Tweed Regional Gallery, Murwillumbah, NSW, Australia
Image 1
Name: Nevermore
Artist: Kim Godfrey
Year: 2017
Size: Width 52 cm x Height 40 cm x Depth 5cm
Medium: watercolour/mixed media on canvas/assemblage with found objects
Price: $1,250.00
Photography: Kim Godfrey Art
Description: PIED OYSTERCATCHER-ENDANGERED NATIVE
In NSW the pied oystercatcher is thinly scattered along the east coast with fewer than 200 pairs left breeding in the state. I have seen a pair on the Tweed River in 2017. They nest on coastal or estuarine beaches-sometimes salt marshes or grassy areas. They forage for molluscs, worms, crabs and small fish with their beaks used to break open oysters, shells and other shellfish. This shorebird lays two or three eggs in shallow scrapes in the sand and lures intruders from its nest with injury-feigning distraction display. Ravens predate on unattended eggs.
The raven, sometimes seen as a symbol of impending death (the colour black can also represent this), is seen in the images as a literal and metaphoric possibility of the extinction of the shorebirds. In his poem, The Raven, Edgar Allan Poe writes:
“other friends have flown before, then the bird said ‘nevermore’
Other symbols used in this image include eyes, a plane, sun, circles and moon to suggest the natural cycles of life – uninterrupted by humanity. Children’s building blocks, plastic vegetable and fruit sacks, letters and text suggest urban development and the interruption of the natural cycle and diversity of life.
The bird’s habitats are finite. Birds are a litmus test to the health of the earth. They are our modern “canaries”. It is therefore important for us in this region to maintain the integrity of this fragile ecosystem for all interrelated life forms, not just for our own use and pleasure.
Image 2
Name: Don’t disturb me and my clutch of three.
Artist: Kim Godfrey
Year: 2017
Size: Width 65cm x Height 40cm x Depth 5cm
Medium: watercolour/mixed media on canvas/assemblage with found objects
Price: $1,250.00
Photography: Kim Godfrey Art
Description: LITTLE TERN-ENDANGERED NATIVE
The little turn plunges into shallow water to get small fish from just below the surface. They breed in a scrape in the sand or shell debris on coastal beaches and river mouths usually just above the high tide mark. Breeding pairs have suffered serious decline caused by beachgoers, dogs and vehicles intruding on breeding grounds. Once disturbed they may lose eggs to heat or predators like foxes and ravens. A predatory fox, although a native in some bio diverse areas of the world is not a native to our shores as is ‘man’s best friend’- the dog. Both can unknowingly disturb a nesting bird. It takes only 30 minutes of the parent bird to be off its nest for the embryo in the egg to fry in the hot sun and die. The raven, a native to our shores is a watchful predator and will prey on unattended nests.
As in all the other works in this series the assemblage process utilised constructs a narrative concerning the challenges the birds encounter and aims to reflect these concerns by the use of representation and symbolism. Included are objects such as identification ‘tags” to mimic scientific data collections, yet the work extends beyond scientific inquiry to include the children’s building blocks that belie our naïve belief that the constructed encroachment of humanity does no harm to shorebirds and their natural habitat.
Image 3
Name: No tree-no me
Artist: Kim Godfrey
Year: 2017
Size: Width 60cm x Height 32 cm x Depth 6cm
Medium: watercolour/mixed media on canvas/assemblage with found objects
Price: $1,250.00
Photography: Kim Godfrey Art
Description: RED TAILED BLACK COCKATOO-DECLINING NATIVE
The cockatoo lives and breeds in pairs. They nest in decayed debris in tree hollows. Their environment has become restricted due to habitat modification and clearing with the loss of large trees in this area. They are seasonally nomadic-part-migratory moving around due to seasonal food availability. Foods favoured are seeds especially of eucalypts, casuarinas, acacias, and banksias as well as berries, nectar, flowers and sometimes insects and larvae.
Included in this image are objects such as building blocks that were juxtaposed with the watercolour images by trail and error to create a harmonious and aesthetic effect. They represent urban development and the loss of habitat for the cockatoos that belies our childish naivety in thinking we are not doing harm to shorebirds. The blocks also represent symbols of our children’s future alluding to the fact that it is not ‘child’s play.’ Our children are the ones that have to live with the consequences of our naivety in not addressing climate change and urban encroachment on natural habitats.
Image 4
Name: I see you looking at me
Artist: Kim Godfrey
Year: 2017
Size: Width 60cm x Height 40 cm x Depth 6 cm
Medium: watercolour/mixed media on canvas/assemblage with found objects
Price: $1,250.00
Photography: Kim Godfrey Art
Description: BUSH STONE CURLEW-DECLING NATIVE
Nocturnal and ground dwelling with a haunting sound at night the bush stone curlew feeds mainly on insects, molluscs, small lizards, seeds and occasionally small mammals. Eggs are laid in a shallow scrape in the ground. Three live in the garden across the road from me. Like some of the other shorebirds they were once quite common but declining due to loss of natural habitat and predation by domestic and feral cats and foxes.
Modern society seemingly sees the constructed world and the natural world as a mosaic of disconnected fragments rather than an integrated whole and I am aiming to reflect this idea in this and the other artworks. The work also draws heavily on my own sense of aesthetics developed over decades that is driven by my interest in contemporary art and the diversity of practices found in the arts that utilise found objects and assemblage to create artworks. I have therefore used the children’s blocks as not only an aesthetic device but to symbolise urban development that displaces the shorebirds from their natural habitats. I have also used a red fruit and vegetable sack stretched over parts of the fox image to represent the danger of predators as well as the danger of man made plastics to native birds.
Image 5
Name: Sea Change/(See Change)
Artist: Kim Godfrey
Year: 2017
Size: Width 60cm x Height 47cm x 5 cm
Medium: watercolour/mixed media on canvas/assemblage with found objects
Price: $1,250.00
Photography: Kim Godfrey Art
Description: BAR TAILED GODWIT-ENDANGERED, MIGRATORY
Bar tailed godwits breed in Siberia/Alaska Tundra region. They are a summer migrant to Australia that feed in tidal mud-flats but scarce in this area. Loss of habitat being tidal mudflats and estuaries, and shallow river margins in Australia and on their flight path to and from breeding grounds to feeding grounds, are a danger to this bird. They are the world record holders for non-stop flight travelling over 11,000 km where they lose half their body weight. Travelling this distance in a very short time-just over a week, they will need to recuperate and feed in our local mudflats as soon as they arrive.
“It is the distancing and separation of humankind from the natural world, the sense of superiority to other living beings, that enables us to perpetuate the mistaken notion that we are not subject to the same laws that govern the rest of life on earth.”
David Suzuki, Time to Change.
My interest in wilderness and wildlife areas inspires me to want to see changes in humanities displacement of these fragile natural habitats not only in our immediate environment but on a global scale.
Included in the artwork are children’s building blocks, plastic vegetable and fruit sacks and text that suggest the development of humanity and the interruption of the natural cycle and diversity of life. It is a mistake to think we are not responsible for the wellbeing of our shorebirds. We have the responsibility to create a sustainable future for our children to experience the mutual connectedness between all species.
Image 6
Name: Cross Currents
Artist: Kim Godfrey
Year: 2017
Size: Width 65cm x height x 45 cm x Depth 5cm
Medium: watercolour/mixed media on canvas/assemblage with found objects
Price: $1,250.00
Photography: Kim Godfrey Art
Description: EASTERN OSPREY-VULNERABLE NATIVE
The Eastern Osprey is a coastal bird that breeds and lives in pairs on the Tweed coast and there is possibly only 10 pairs in the area. It dives torpedo like in waterways patrolling the coast and river looking for prey, mostly medium sized live fish (that it rips apart to eat.)
Overfishing and fishing lines, nets and hooks are a hazard to this raptor. They are frequently faithful to a nest site using the site year after year. The nest is made from sticks and driftwood and lined with grass and seaweed. It becomes huge after years and usually placed on a cliff, a dead tree or a radio mast or power pole. The Tweed council has built artificial nesting platforms for them to breed, which they will readily use. However many young ospreys become entangled in nets or seaweed and drown or are affected by contaminated fish from pesticides that leach into our waterways.
The assemblage techniques used in this image makes use of children’s building blocks and text along with plastic vegetable and fruit sacks to suggest the interruption of the natural cycle and diversity of life with the consumer practice of urban development and use of plastics.
As David Suzuki said in his book Time to Change:
“we have to imagine the kind of world we want and then work to create it………imagine our children growing up in a world without the songs of birds…….”
Imagine not seeing the magnificence of a raptor flying above you and then swooping to catch its prey.
I recently saw a pair in January 2016 circling above me near the mouth of the Tweed River and was inspired to paint them. To date they are still active around the mouth of the Tweed River.
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Caldera Art 2017
This art exhibition features 6 artists who are promoting biodiversity in Australia’s green cauldron on the east coast of NSW-Kim Godfrey, Janet Hauser, Heidi Ledwell, Greg Mulheran, Greg Newland and Jennifer Porter.
The exhibition is on at the TWEED REGIONAL GALLERY-Mistral Road, Murwillumbah from 22nd September -3rd December 2017.
These images are by Kim Godfrey who has been a contemporary artist for over three decades. The series of six highlight the vulnerability of native and migratory shorebirds in the Tweed River
Artist: Kim Godfrey
kimgodfreyart 