Waratah - the film
Design Eye Creative Major Award $5000
Working primarily in paper, Amanda May creates custom handmade statement pieces for special events, decorations and styling. Nature, manmade nature, and the relationship between them are influences on Amanda’s work. Another strong interest is the blurring of lines between the real and artificial. Her work often allows for the exploration of structures that are not possible in nature. As ‘Waratah’ demonstrates, scale plays an important part in suspending reality - playing with the viewers perception and hijacking expectations to amuse and intrigue.
‘Waratah’ was designed as a celebration of Australia’s unique wildlife. Telopia speciosissima is a bold and iconic example of our indigenous flora. The piece showcases how perfectly nature combines individual parts, utilising repetition and interlocking units to result in spectacular symmetry.
The blue-banded bee was incorporated to highlight the story of pollination. The bees are only 10-12mm long and are one of a few native bee species that perform ‘buzz pollination’. Some of our Australian indigenous flowers can only be pollinated in this way. The underlying message is that Australia needs to be mindful of protecting and encouraging insect species on our own shores. With enough bee-attracting flowers, the Blue-Banded Bee can be found be found in urban areas.
‘Waratah’ is made from 225gsm uncoated, carbon-neutral paper.
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