Alysha Fewster | Cubby House

May 18 2019 — July 21 2019

The building of a cubby in the bush is easily overlooked as childish and insignificant. However the interaction between a person and their environment is far from trivial.

By being in and interacting with the ecosystems around them, a child is given the opportunity to take on a knowledge of the natural world and develop a bond to the environment in which their life takes place. This bond is the foundation of a person’s environmentally ethical decision-making in adulthood. Through an understanding of natural systems and a firsthand knowledge of the eco-community we depend on for our very existence, we are able to concur with deep ecologist John Seed when he states “it is not me […] protecting the rainforest. Rather, I am part of the rainforest protecting itself.”(1)

By elevating the act of building a cubby by recontextualising it within a fine art setting, the viewer is offered an opportunity to consider the significance of childhood experiences in nature. The profound importance of a person’s relationship to their environment transcends words. Through a visual medium I hope to offer a moment for deep reflection of the importance of a child playing in nature.

1 – Linda Buzzell Ecotherapy: Healing with nature in mind (Berkeley, CA: Counterpoint, 2010), 239.