Cairn highlights the human- nature relationship and how engagement with the natural environment can lead to personal growth. When tracking through difficult terrain, there is an ancient anthropological tradition of piling stones on top of each other to indicate the direction to follow. This human-made pile of rocks is known as a cairn and is still used today when following footpaths or hiking trails. The symbolism behind a cairn is not to indicate that the path forward will be without obstacles, but rather an indication that hikers before you have chosen to travel along this route. As each passer-by adds a single stone, the cairn is gradually and collectively formed over time. The selfless act of contributing one stone to a beacon that will guide others along the route establishes a sense of community among hikers to act to assist others.

The exhibition becomes a metaphorical cairn, one that is built one artwork at a time, using art practice as a symbol to guide, to question, and to suggest how we interact with nature and how our legacy will be perceived.

This exhibition invites viewers to become stewards of nature who gradually and caringly build a legacy of nature conservation for future generations. We contend that small acts of kindness and empathic gestures, such as the ritual of building a cairn, may demonstrate the potential uplifting impact of human engagement.