Growing up on the land and spending most of her life living and working in regional WA, Linda Rae now has the red dirt of the Goldfields well and truly under her skin. As a passionate environmental advocate, she works predominantly with scavenged and natural materials, often brought to life with a pop of technology. Inspired by nature’s beauty, fragility and resilience, Linda’s work encourages viewers to look closer, see deeper, and recognise the value of our vital ecosystems.

 

Responding to the deep disconnect so prevalent in the Goldfields, Linda is saddened by the frequent sentiment that there is “nothing to see here, nothing to protect, nothing to value.” Perpetual, shallow inductions leave newcomers untouched by place, so many unable to sense the beauty and delicacy around them. She proposes a future that replaces induction with infusion. An immediate, sensory flooding  welcome to new ground that lets the red dirt settle under the skin and fosters a genuine synergy with the land. This ritual of rapid release shifting outlooks instantly, nurturing respect, shared purpose, and a richer sense of belonging.

 

In a landscape marked by industry, Linda Rae scavenged mining waste to bring this concept to life. These materials may carry traces of gold, like those that linger quietly in our gum leaves, drawn up through their roots and held in their veins. This work proposes that we too, steep in all that is golden in our landscape, letting flavours of the bush, our red dirt, and its gold, travel through us. A reminder that the land marks us, as surely as we leave our marks upon it.