In the Studio with Karen Black

Plants are strange people

I want to talk about Frankie. We’ve always been friends and lately we’ve become quite close. I go for walks (without her) and steal plant cuttings from gardens in Marrickville to propagate in the studio, adding to my indoor garden. This encourages me to take a different route each day in order to find new plants to add to my collection, although Frankie is still my favourite. A large Euphorbia Ammak that is listed as vulnerable in its place of origin (Saudi Arabia and Yemin), she was gifted to me about 8 years ago.

At that time she was around 50cm high and has grown to be a 1.5m tall monster. The structural beauty and variegated form make for an impressive specimen. Pups squeeze themselves out of existing structures to form an almost human like shape, extending like arms and legs, and even a penis protrudes in what, at a glance, confirms to be the anatomically correct placing.

The ridged arms are like the top of a mountain range edged with spikes. I’m supposed to dust the floor of the canyons between these mountain ridges to keep the structures clean. Weekly! I do this precariously, as if knocked, a milky poisonous sap emerges and runs freely down the mountain and possibly all over me. Frankie is a pop star who demands the attention of all who enter the room, but is happiest when watching me paint. Plants are strange people.

Karen Black, Studio view.

Photo credit: Anna Kucera