About
Photo: Michèle Bergsma
Since 1998 Cooper has been mapping the edges of the rock coastline of the North Atlantic Ocean. She is recording the coastal rim by creating series of detailed drawings of the cliff-face structure, the fissures and forms of the rock. An analysis of coastlines shaped by increasing storms, weathering and rising sea-levels at locations from Labrador down the coast through Quebec, Newfoundland, Nova Scotia, Maine, the Western Isles in Scotland, Shetland, Orkney, Ireland, Norway, France and Northern Spain. The fragile, tenuous nature of our coasts is reflected with delicacy and accuracy bridging the passage of time where ‘the line is ever present’.
Parallel to this she is creating a contemporary xylotheque following the life and death of trees. Working with plant pathologists, ecologists, universities, botanic gardens and national parks has has added an authenticity to “make manifest causes of tree diseases”. Her work focuses on plants, trees, the soil and landscape. She was a visiting researcher in the State Herbarium of South Australia for the creation of an algae herbarium, as well as ongoing work on phyto-remediation, soil pollution, compaction and erosion.
Cooper is currently the visiting artist at Hortus Botanicus Leiden, where she is continuing her tree portraits and developing knowledge and understanding of trees while providing an accessible link between the science behind the botanic garden and the public.