Through The Nestling films, visual artist Wendy Mack shares her perspectives on what nurturing could mean. Her inspiration stems from her initial work with weeds, where the process of weeding allowed her to reflect on growth and development. Specifically, in washing the soil off the weeds before their prints were made, she was taken in by the materiality of soil that was impartial in its support for the garden – for plants and weeds alike. Concurrently, the gentle way in which she had to rinse the weeds to preserve the structural integrity for the prints brought out her emotional memories from her growing up years.  As such, the soil, water and by extension aspects of nature, became a conduit through which Wendy slowly began to understand and reconnect with herself.

The resultant films serve to crystalize this pensive journey where she draws on the metaphor of a nest. Here the relationship between a caregiver and a child become central to the investigation. Both films, nonetheless are shot from the child’s perspective of how it understands being protected, vulnerable and perhaps even reflections on that experience itself.

The Nestling I offers insights into a worldview that is heavily dependent on the visual and aural familiarity of an environment. As an artist, moments of impermanence that arrests the human existence is important for Wendy. So, the spontaneity of the movements captured in the footage – alongside the ambient soundscapes and the artistic interpretation of the pink skies – form the bedrock of the film. If the former is about looking out, the latter The Nestling II gives an appreciation with distance. Here, Wendy brings back her interest in organic plant matter. Concurrently she manipulates a single raindrop that makes up the soundscape – mimicking the rainfall sonic from which she drew solace as a child. The skeletal structure of the branches that stand alone invite audience to be contemplative while taking in the beauty of the empty nests. What becomes more compelling is when both films are watched consecutively. The complementing visuals across both films also throw into relief ideas of a transformative growth such as that within a cocoon. Could the child also become its own caregiver?