Into the Bower (2014)

Into the Bower was an interactive, community-engaged art project presented by Wild Ground Creative Adventures as part of the 2014 Australian Climbing Festival. Conceived as a large-scale, participatory installation, the project invited festivalgoers to co-create a giant, blue-themed bower using natural materials, found objects, and recycled craft items.

The work drew on the bowerbird’s instinctual practices of curation and display to explore themes of nature connection, creative play, and embodied storytelling. Participants of all ages collaborated with dan eleni and her creative team across the weekend to construct the evolving sculptural form, contributing handmade "blue critters," woven artefacts, and small treasures to the bower's nest-like assemblage.

Inside the bower, a whimsical photo booth and blue-hued tea party created space for performance, play, and social ritual. Surrounding activities included face painting, collaborative mural-making with natural pigments, and ephemeral mandalas constructed from bush foraged materials. The project foregrounded participatory making as a vehicle for ecological engagement, celebrating the interplay between improvisation, wonder, and place-based creativity.

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Nature of Motherhood: A Sit Spot Writing (2018)