I am a Sydney-based artist & environmentalist. I believe art can reconnect us to our natural world & built environments, as well as to ourselves, our health & each other. I work across media, from photography & sculpture to installation & performance, exploring ecological, social & personal issues relating to loss, death, extinction & our collective future. My work has been exhibited locally & overseas, & in several online publications. I have been a finalist for various awards, including the Australian Photography Awards. For five years, from 2016, I co-managed Instagramers Sydney & Australia (@igerssydney and @igersaustraliaofficial) on Instagram. I am now communications officer at Head On Foundation, managing editor of Head On Interactional magazine, & vice president of the environmental artist’s charity, the Tree Veneration Society. My work is underpinned by my belief that art creates a strong sense of place, connects people & contributes to a sense of community and wellbeing.
Website: https://environmeanttobe.wordpress.com
Instagram: @paulabroom @theoriginalmiss
Email: thefirstoriginalmiss@gmail.com
Artist Statement
My practice involves exploring human/nature interactions with a particular emphasis on trees, ecosystems, and the health benefits they bestow on both human society and the more than human species that live on them. I have been walking and photographing my immediate surroundings since 2011. Walking is a component of the work and informs much of what I do. These photos form a series, all taken in Centennial Park in Sydney’s eastern suburbs, from 2016 on. They are part of my ongoing documentation of the effects of climate change in Sydney and New South Wales.