Mosaic
Emma Rehn
Artwork part of ‘Time’ (Issue 15)
The Artist
Dr Emma Rehn (she/her) is an Australian science illustrator, archaeologist, and palaeofire scientist who lives in tropical north Queensland, Australia. As well as writing about science, she specialises in communicating scientific ideas and research through simple but engaging visuals, often in cartoon style. Her work reflects her passion for studying the past and for making research accessible. You can view her portfolio online at https://bluerehn.wordpress.com and find her on social media platforms with the handle BlueRehn.
The Science
"Mosaic" refers to the artistic concept of multiple fragments forming a complete image and the ecological concept of mosaic (patch) burning, a management practice applying fire in small patches spread across space and time. Like mosaics in art and fire, palaeoecology (the study of past environments) investigates the history of a landscape through fragments across time and space. Through a sequence of time slices, clues such as pollen and charcoal are used to reveal different parts of the environment such as plant types and fire activity. Together, these pieces form a more complete picture of the landscape, past and present. The landscape in “Mosaic” is inspired by the environments of northern Australia from my own palaeoecological research, incorporating some of the flora, fauna, fire, monsoonal rain, and red soil from this unique part of the world.
The Theme
Time (the issue theme) is the central theme of this artwork, and of the science which it represents. The artwork attempts to capture 4-dimensional concepts in a 2-dimensional format, with slices of time shown as fragments that together form a complete image. The mosaic landscape represents how changes (in flora, fauna, climate, and land use, which are all interconnected) through time combine to form the landscapes we see in the present. Nothing is static, and everything must be understood in relation to its past and potential future.
Copyright statement. This work is published under the CC-BY-NC-ND license.