William Farrer Diaries
‘Carbon Copy’, Image by Eleanor Gates-Stuart – Inspired by William Farrer Diaries
This is my first post of 2013 – the Centenary of Canberra Year. Having recently returned to view William Farrer Diaries at the National Library of Australia, I felt inspired to create this image dedicated to William Farrer.
Last year, I remember being in the manuscipts room at the NLA and feeling overwhelmed with all the artifacts at hand, yet very excitied and now back on track to see where this journey takes the research.
I found the carbon paper in his diary intriguing, a single piece of paper that holds so much information, a layering of sentence upon sentence .. words .. more words. It resonated with the way I produce much of my work, embedding layers and layers of information as a foundation and structure.
Unfortunately, this image does not give you the feeling of handling the book and the incredible sound of the crisp delicate paper.. something that has so much history and with context to Australia’s wheat legacy.
I hope to include more of William Farrer in my exhibition in August – the influence is already there.
Farrer Variety
Image, ‘Farrer Variety’ by Eleanor Gates-Stuart
Image celebrates the legacy of wheat experimentalist William Farrer and the innovative contribution of the Food Futures Flagship / Plant Industry of CSIRO.
This image, ‘Farrer Variety’ shows grain grown to plant through the pages of William Farrer’s notes. The wheat is a 3D model and modern rendering of a new strain of wheat… linking a 100 years of excellence in cross-breeding and wheat quality.
References:
William Farrer’s Letters – National Library of Australia
3D Seed Scans – Dr Chuong Nguyen, CSIRO
3D Modelling – Eleanor Gates-Stuart
Stems
‘Stems’ by Eleanor Gates-Stuart
Busy working on a new series of images. ‘Stems‘ is a detail section from one of the recent 3D images created around the William Farrer Field Books. Currently collecting more plant samples and preparing for high-res’ scans.
Supreme
Supreme, Image by Eleanor Gates-Stuart
‘Supreme’ – Celebrating scientific innovation and experimentalism
Image Reference: William Farrer’s Field Diary – National Library of Australia
Farrer Insights
Visionary, Image by Eleanor Gates-Stuart
‘Visionary’ dedicated to William Farrer
Image references William Farrer’s Field Notes (National Library of Australia)
VisSketches
VisSketchI, by Eleanor Gates-Stuart
VisSketchII, by Eleanor Gates-Stuart
VisSketches I + II, Concept development in progress
Reference: 3D scanning provided by Chuong Nguyen (CSIRO)
Wheat in Time (Rough Cut)
<p><aWheat in Time, Video by Eleanor Gates-Stuart
Using StellrScope wheat images to research low tech’ motion and spatial concepts.
Dollar of Wheat
Image: 2012 Wheat Sheaf Dollar in Package Design (Front & Back), Royal Australian Mint
In celebration of the wheat industry and its contribution to the Australian economy, the Royal Australian Mint issued the release of the 2012 wheat sheaf dollar coin design that is available as a visitor press, take home a coin from Canberra.
Statement on the One Dollar Coin Cover:
During the first half of the 20th Century, Australian coin designs reflected the nation’s burgeoning independence, which developed in parallel with successes in agriculture and primary industry. Australia’s current strong position in the global market was founded in the paddocks and plantations of generations past.
2012 Wheat Sheaf Dollar – Royal Australian Mint
Australia’s first $2 bank note featured William Farrer in celebration of his outstanding wheat experimentalism and contribution to Australia’s food future.
William Farrer
Image by Eleanor Gates-Stuart
References: Agricultural Gazette of N. S. Wales, 1898; The Wheat Industry in Australia, Callagan & Millington, Angus and Roberston, 1956.
“It has been long suggested to me that I should write a paper giving the history and progress of the experimental work I have been engaged upon for the last ten years in improving wheats for Australia, and especially for the climate and conditions of our dry interior; but in looking into the subject, I find my notes have been kept so unsystematically and that so much has been forgotten which was of principal interest at some stage of the work, that it would be exceedingly difficult to write a paper on that subject which would be satisfactory to myself or interesting to others. I think it better, therefore, to make an effort to deal in this paper with the details of the work itself. Such a subject, if justice where done to it, would be likely to furnish suggestive information to others who might wish to take in hand work of a simimilar character, either with cereals or with some other domesticated plants”.
W. Farrer. ‘The Making and Improving of Wheats for Australian Conditions’,* March 1898. Agricultural Gazette of N. S. Wales.
*A paper read before the Australian Association for the Advancement of Science, 10 January, 1898.
Read more about William Farrer: Link: William Farrer, Australian Dictionary of Biography
StellrScope
Eleanor Gates-Stuart has been awarded the Centenary of Canberra, Science Art Commission, with residency as, Science Art Fellow, at the Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation (CSIRO) through their Transformational Biology Capability Platform (TBCP). She will be based at the CSIRO Mathematics, Informatics and Statistics (CMIS) Research Division supported by the specialist expertise of Dr David Lovell, Bioinformatics and Analytics Leader, and Dr Matthew Morell, Theme Leader, CSIRO Food Futures Flagship. 
StellrScope will be completed in 2013 and displayed at Questacon and the CSIRO Discovery Centre in Canberra. The Centenary Science Art Commission is jointly funded by the ACT Government and the Australian Government and is one of many projects taking place to mark the Centenary of Canberra in 2013. http://www.canberra100.com./au/
StellrScope: Translating information complexity into a simplistic rendering of meaning
