A General Method

11, 5 x 7.5cm digital prints of cross sections of Arkose Sandstone specimens from Beech Forest, Otways.

‘A General Method’ was a collaborative project between Ren Gregorčič and Tarryn Handcock, with technical support from geologist Derek Walters. The work presents the simple complexity of Arkose Sandstone samples taken from Beech Forest in the Otways, Victoria, Australia.

Arkose Sandstone is unique due to its high percentage of feldspar, which gives it a distinct pink or red color. The formation of Arkose Sandstone in the Beech Forest is the result of millions of years of geological processes, including erosion, deposition, and compaction. The Otways Forest has a rich and complex history, dating back over 5000 years when the indigenous people of the region, the Gadubanud (Katubanut), also known as the Pallidurgbarran, Yarro waetch or Cape Otway tribe (Tindale), lived within and surrounding the forests. However, with the arrival of European settlers in the 1800s, the Otways forests were subject to significant deforestation and logging and the indigenous peoples were forceably displaced. The resulting impact on the region's ecology and biodiversity has been profound, with many species now endangered, threatened or decimated.

The project was born out of a series of questions by the artists about the long-term legacy of the deforestation of the Otways Forest and the geological marks this ecological crisis that would remain.

The significance of the title "A General Method" is underscored by the nature of the artwork itself. The cross-sections of Arkose Sandstone depicted in the prints represent a geological process that is both natural and systematic. The layers of sandstone were formed over millions of years through a process of erosion, deposition, and compression.

The prints are not only representations of a physical object, but also reflect the natural processes that created them; a representation of a general method of creation.