Farewell James Darling

I have always enjoyed relationships with our clients, especially when they grow beyond the client/supplier sphere. Work is work, unless you make it more. Considering the time we have on this planet and, how much of it we have to spend working, I certainly want more.

Last Sunday a memorial service was held for James Darling as he had recently passed in a farm vehicle accident. The accident was a terrible mishap, resulting one of his employees hospitalised and James losing his life at the scene.

James and his partner Lesley Forwood ran Duck Island, a highly successful working cattle property, that prototypes a balance between the rabid salinity of SA’s South East region, with the delicate flora and fauna that wraps around the property. James’ attention to the land, and innovation based on personal observation, has lead to international acclaim. This is a genuinely brilliant undertaking.

Additionaly, James was a notable artist, with Lesley they made the most overwhelming mallee root sculptures, using tons and tons of the dense, gnarly wood. These sculptures go together like a jigsaw puzzle and were transported loose all around the world, from the Conde Duque in Spain, to the Venice Bienale, then reassembled by James and Lesley on site.

We assisted in these on several occasions printing full scale templates and supporting photographs, but our involvement mostly hinged on James’ use of his Hasselblad Widelux to photograph his artworks on location, and his landscape photographs which were an extension of his love of the view.

One enduring project James and I shared were our Christmas cards. We both insist on small prints mounted to cards, with hand written messages. Each year a new image was chosen, and we made upwards of 800 cards for them. We would always send one another a card, I have quite the collection.

In 2012 I visited Duck Island with my daughters, at this stage James was in the thick of installing solar and beginning to pave parts of the roadways around the property. We were given a wonderful half day, we met the resident Mallee Fowl (a rare mound building bird), and a herd of the most docile curious cattle, all thrilled to see James.

James’ memorial service was special, it drew together all the aspects of his life and all of those whom he left wanting more.