Flower Bed

Madeline Kidd’s work draws on the philosophy of Friedrich Froebel, widely renowned as “the inventor of kindergarten”. Through her paintings, drawings and sculptures she explores how play is a part of learning and how simple shapes and colours can form a foundation of play. Her process often starts with a period of experimentation where childlike materials such as building blocks, coloured paper and marbles are arranged to form preliminary compositions. In the painting ‘Flower Bed’, Madeline has used collage to create a source image from which to paint. The image is a re-imagining of an idyllic childhood garden where Madeline lived and played when she was eight years old. Though many of the flowers are now gone, the house still stands in the Launceston suburb of Norwood. The work examines the problematic relationship between memory and nostalgia. Though it is impossible to assemble an accurate picture of the past, we can attempt to layer the pieces.