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Eva Nolan, a PhD candidate at UNSW Arts, Design & Architecture, is trying to do something radical with pencil and paper. Her drawings of native Australian animals aren’t just beautiful – they’re part of a bigger mission to rethink how we see and relate to the natural world.

Her work blends scientific precision with artistic imagination, creating images that don’t just show animals, but the ecosystems they’re part of.

“I’ve always loved natural history illustrations for their detail and delicacy,” Nolan says. “But I started to notice a paradox. These drawings are full of care, yet they often depict animals that were taken from the wild and preserved as specimens. They’re shown as isolated, lifeless objects, not as living beings in a web of relationships.”

That contradiction sparked a desire to explore how digital platforms like iNaturalist and the Atlas of Living Australia allow for a change in approach. These tools allow artists to reference photographs of animals in their natural habitats – alive, active, and connected to their environments.

“In my practice, I’ve replaced the use of specimens with high-resolution images of species documented in the wild,” she explains. “That way, I can draw them as part of their habitat, not removed from it. It’s a more respectful, care-based way of engaging with nature.”

This approach came to life during a field trip to UNSW’s Wild Deserts, a conservation project in Sturt National Park developed to reintroduce endangered native animals to the park. There, Nolan joined scientists for an annual survey, helping monitor reintroduced mammals like bilbies, bettongs and western quolls – species once extinct in the area.

“It was heartwarming to see these animals thriving,” she says. “And not just them – the whole ecosystem was responding. These digging mammals are like ecosystem engineers. They improve the soil, help plants grow, and support other species. It was amazing to witness that firsthand.”

Armed with a camera and a sketchbook, Nolan documented the animals she encountered, uploading her sightings to iNaturalist. Back in the studio, she used those images – along with others shared by citizen scientists – to create a large graphite drawing featuring 24 species found in Wild Deserts.

The result is a visual map of interdependence.

“I wanted to show how these species are connected,” Nolan says. “The drawing represents an experimental approach to visualising the complex webs of interdependence essential for ecological flourishing.”

By using digital tools and collaborative platforms, Nolan is challenging an outdated idea of the artist as a solitary observer. Instead, she sees herself as part of a wider network – of scientists, citizen observers, and the ecosystems themselves.

“I think platforms like iNaturalist are really powerful,” she says. “They let people engage with nature in a non-extractive way. You’re not taking anything – you’re just observing, recording, and sharing. It’s a care-based approach.”

Nolan hopes her drawings will help people see biodiversity not as a catalogue of independent species, but as a living, breathing system of relationships. In a time when many ecosystems are under threat, that shift in perspective could be crucial.

“I want people to feel the complexity and beauty of these connections,” she says. “To understand that when we lose a species, we’re not just losing an individual – we’re losing part of a network that supports life.”

In her thesis Nolan is researching how contemporary drawings can help focus attention to multispecies relationships and act as a call to action in a time that is witnessing biodiversity depletion.

“I’m curious to explore how drawing nature and the delicate webs of interspecies independence might inspire people to see the connections that sustain life here on Earth and want to preserve biodiversity as a result,” she says.