Hidden at Rockwood brings new life for bonsai
Merrylands artist Atanas Djonov’s piece Capsule joins Rookwood Cemetery’s annual outdoor sculpture exhibition Hidden.
Parramatta
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Soon after Merrylands artist Atanas Djonov arrived in Australia, he bought a bonsai tree.
About a decade later, the chinese elm dried out during a heatwave but Djonov kept it with him, featuring it in his work.
“Sadly, during 2005 I believe, it got burnt by the sun and ever since I’ve been travelling with this little bonsai tree with me,” he said.
The tree appears in his sculpture Capsule, which will be exhibited at Rookwood Cemetery’s annual outdoor sculpture exhibition Hidden .
The preserved bonsai tree is encapsulated inside a plastic replica of the 1960s Russian spacecraft Vostok, a sphere that is painted with a map of the world on its surface.
“It kind of resembles the globe, so inside you see this bonsai tree,” Djonov said.
The Bulgarian-born artist felt Capsule was a good fit for the Rookwood exhibition, which runs for a month from September 1 and celebrates its 10th anniversary this year.
“It sort of reverses the expectation of life and death in a way, so that’s why I found this particular work related to the theme of the graveyard,” he said.
“It has been in progress for a number of years and I finally felt … it could suit the environment, the theme of the exhibition, so I’m really happy for them to accept the work.
“I’m looking forward to setting it up and see how people relate to it because it encapsulates death in a way, it encapsulates that dry, frozen, preserved moment.”
The free exhibition is open from sunrise to sunset in September.