Here is a list of Phillippa's favourite 10 books that inspire and inform her creative process.

01

The Power of Limits. Proportional Harmonies in Nature, Art, and Architecture. By György Doczi

Gyorgy Doczi’s book has been described as a poetic expression of the harmony of the universe. At the core of all of my making is a continual search for the proportions and harmonies in nature that reveal themselves in structure, energies, connections and pattern of nature. This book perfectly represents what has driven my creating and making for over 5 years.

 

02

The Temple Of Flora. By Robert John Thornton

The stories of plants told in botanically correct yet romantic paintings. The fact that the first publication of this book was in 1799 only reinforces my love for these works. This book is for me among the most supreme achievements of botanical illustration. Temple of Flora is a collection of exquisitely painted illustrations, the subjects of which are a combination of botanicals with romanticised background landscapes. Like these remarkable prints, my work is an exploration of the documentation of nature with a romantic narrative as background. Each of my pieces is as important as its story, context and background.

 

03

Art Forms from the Ocean: The radiolarian Prints Of Ernst Haekel. By  Olaf Breidbach

Those who are familiar with my work will be aware of my love for geometry in nature, of the searching in nature for common forms and patterns across the animal, botanical and mineral world. Haeckel’s plates speak to me about the beauty in the structure and texture of the natural world, of its geometry and of relationships between creatures and species. The result is an exquisite documentation of life, in the style of a natural museum, each plate a perfectly nestled composition.

 

04

Kimberley Rock Art: Volume 1, 2 & 3. By Mike Donaldson

The sophisticated paintings found in the Kimberleys, are thought to be the oldest figurative paintings in the world. These books document the National treasures that are the Gwion (Bradshaw) and Wanjina art Styles of the Balanggarra people. The beauty, symbolism and cultural significance of these extraordinary Aboriginal works have inspired an approach to my own image making. They make me feel a sense of humility and gratitude, living as I do as an artist and maker in Australia in the 21st Century.

 

05

Joseph Beuys: Phaidon Focus by Alan Antliff

Beuys extensive work is grounded in concepts of humanism, social philosophy and anthroposophy; I was initially drawn to his work because of his bees wax sculpture but quickly came to be aware of his large, diverse and definite body of work, an extraordinary contribution to 20th Century Art. The concept of artist as shaman and the tensions between rationality and spiritualism are concepts that Beuys explored and they are concepts that colour my own questions about where my creative ideas actually come from and how they manifest.

 

06

Everything Sings, Maps for a Narrative Atlas. By Denis Wood

Everything can be coded, everything can speak in another language – its a way of illustrating the world’s interconnectedness. This is the essence of Denis Woods’ remarkable book. In my own work I seek to map the energies and underlying geometries of the natural world. Denis Wood does this a little differently, he maps his Boylan Heights neighbourhood and creates mesmerising graphics – mapsof dog barks, disfigured trees, the paper route. How to we re-read the story when mapped differently? What does a map tell us when the story disappears? Fascinating stuff. I love maps.

 

07

Fuller Houses: R Buckminster Fuller's Dymaxion Dwellings and Other domestic Adventures. By Federico Neder

Buckminster Fuller, Geometry, Structure – many publications about Buckminster Fuller have interested me, particularly following my exploration of spherical geometries in copper.

 

08

Data Flow 1 & 2. By R. Klanten, N. Bourquin, S. Ehmann, T. Tissot eds.

Clever collaborations of maths and visual communications. How do we show interconnectedness and relationships between columns of data and patterns of numbers in a way that tells a story? This book shows us very clever ways. This is a topic designed for my brain and perfect for a phd candidate as well as an artist exploring connections throughout the universe.

 

09

Calder: Gravity and Grace. By Carmen Gimenez & Alexander S. C. Rower eds.

Alexander Calder’s jewellery work is relatively unknown, and is a beautiful extension of his better known sculptures. His ability to move between medium, to create loose yet perfectly balanced forms, as sculpture and wearable art, continue to inspire me.

 

10

Cosmos Of Light: The Sacred  Architecture of Le Corbusier. By Henry Plummer

Light, space and spirit. These are the three key concepts that have drawn me to this book. Cosmos of Light documents Henry Plummer’s photographic and personal account of three religious structures in France designed by Le Corbusier: the chapel at Ronchamp, the monastery of Sainte Marie de La Tourette, and the parish church of Saint-Pierre in Firminy-Vert.

Plummer’s photos—taken over a period of 20 years—capture the way light and shadow turns escalate a space to become meaningful sacred places. I too have explored with how earthly creations link with the celestial and spiritual in my work and this book is, for me, a fascinating exploration of how light has been used as a symbol for spiritual and religious connection.