Hedge Sculptures

Louise Kaestner
Dec 29, 2024
3 min read

Boodjar Animal Sculptures.

Source: The Gnawnster Youtube (2024)

Interview with Hedge Sculptures

Well, I am no Stephen King's Danny Torrence and this is not the Overlook Hotel. However, we do have some hedge sculptures, who, much like the Hammock Hotel, decided to pull me over for an impromptu interview on a whim. It took me a while to discover what these animals were, because the plaque was on the opposite side to where I was. The sculptures are close to the Mallokup Garden. However, you won't find this place on a map, either.

Most of the hedge sculptures were busy, their nose in the dirt, scrounging for morsels of nourishment. Despite the fact that they found none, they were well fed. These darlings had not been ignored by the hedge hairdressers. When I did find the plaque, it explained to me that the Indigenous Peoples of Australia observed their environment to understand what was on offer where survival was concerned. The lack of anything edible being available spoke volumes on what humanity had done to Earth and the great steps we weren't taking in small ways to restore balance.

The Soupy-Eyed Hedge Sculpture

One particular hedge sculpture stared at me with those soupy, puppy-dog eyes. As I swam in its depths, it spoke to me of Earth wisdom. This is a wisdom Indigenous Peoples around the world understood in implicit and explicit ways. It is a wisdom that white colonisers sought to ignore and avoid at all costs and are still doing so now.

Earth will restore balance one way or the other. If we work with the Earth, we stand a much better chance of survival. If humans fight the Earth as we do now, we will not survive. The Earth is not our enemy, but it will become our enemy if we treat it such. Humans must learn to listen to nature. - Soupy-Eyed Hedge Sculpture.

I wondered at its wisdom. The situation overwhelmed me. Statues, sculptures, trees and nature had all raised their voices, begging me to listen over the last several days. Here I stood, holding my technology daring to desecrate the land by trying to explain what could only be felt and known on the intuitive. Nature speaks to us all the time. Humanity listens long enough to snap a pic, post it and say they are doing something without doing anything. Even now, as I write, I'm not doing enough. I can do a lot, as a human, even as a disabled one, but I need help to do it.

I realised that this hedge sculpture, standing a small distance from the herd with his head held high was like me, also standing away from the herd with my head held high. Together, we communicate for a better understanding and a better future for all. It isn't just about humanity, profit and greed. The material world was always the distraction. It is about living with the environment as part of the environment and nurturing the environment rather than setting ourselves up as false kings, queens, lords and ladies to dominate and destroy the environment.

Final Words from the Hedge Sculptures

The animals from the hedge sculptures paused in the search for sustenance. They pointed out the Mallokup Garden about 20 metres away. They said they wanted edible bush tucker made available for them in their area. This way, they could show, rather than tell, us humans what native plants were safe to eat. After that, they bid me farewell and asked me to stop by again, in the future, which is, as yet, unwritten.