Burnt fox, the You Yangs

This image shows Attwell working in small-scale, highlighting the exquisite delicacy of nature, subtly pointing to its fragility and the ramifications of human encroachment. The decomposing body of a fox becomes part of a delicate tapestry of textures and natural forms. Viewed from above, as if just discovered, the fox lies fallen like the leaves which are scattered around it, its taut neck and tail curling away from the black earth which both frames it and threatens to envelop it as nature’s process of decay unfolds. Bared white teeth appear out of a blackened mouth like a warning, reminding us of the fierceness of the life that once existed and whose departure has bestowed this intimate view of death. The melancholic yet spiritually meditative nature of the work is perhaps in tune with the fabled ‘strange’ ambience of the work’s location, the You Yangs regional park. Situated close to the urban sprawl of Geelong in Melbourne, the damaging impact of human presence on the park, combined with an awareness of the site’s earlier Aboriginal inhabitation, has inspired occasional and unverifiable tales of visitors sensing a spiritual presence ill at ease with human intrusion. This image resonates with the silent tension of a one-on-one encounter, revealing a stark lingering beauty that plays on the human fascination with mortality. Attwell’s pictures are void of people yet the consequences of their actions are mingled with his adoration of nature to create rich, delicate, yet subtle images.

© Art Gallery of New South Wales Photography Collection Handbook, 2007