Mahoe

2023

An important part of grounding myself in Aotearoa New Zealand was learning about the local flora and I spent many hours in the bush learning the names and behaviour of the native plants. The Mahoe plant is one of the most common in my neighbourhood.

The first drawing in this series is a direct optical rendering in pen. In each subsequent scan drawing, the composition is generated through a systematic process: lines are drawn from top to bottom and left to right across the page, guided by a specific rule.

In Mahoe 3, the pen is lifted and repositioned to create 2mm gaps, interruptions that begin to define the form. In Mahoe 2, each line is allowed to kink, touching but never crossing the line beside it. The resulting image emerges from the interplay of gaps or points of contact between neighbouring lines.

In this way, the leaves of the Mahoe plant are described through a process that echoes the logic of digital or scientific imaging technologies—translating organic form into patterned data through controlled constraint and repetition.