With a divine passion for all things alive, dead and growing, Bob Hornan and Selena Murray’s combined neurosis and quaint attention to detail have together birthed Immortal Soil. Based in the surrounds of the Northern Rivers these two are presented with the endless ability to create utilising things that people would generally bypass, cut-down or poison. A beautiful collaboration between the underappreciated and the overgrown; pieces are found, scavenged, bought and borrowed. The result is phenomenal art in the form of large scale, site-specific impermanent botanical sculptures.  

Operating for only a short three or so years, the impact these two have had on our wider community is immense. They have created a name for themselves through pieces that are so inexcusably eye-catching, unique and memorable. Their work ranges from their large-scale installations, to immersive talks and hands-on workshops, landing themselves in a lifetime of creating. I had the pleasure of being welcomed into their home where we chatted about all things art over a cup of peppermint tea. 

It is a gloomy day, the kind of day you want to spend in bed. I jumped into my Toyota Camry excited for what was to come and headed South of Lismore to a small rural town called Wyrallah. Winding through the flood-affected planes and over an obnoxiously exaggerated bridge, I found myself situated in a paddock surrounded by calves followed closely by their mothers.  

‘Take a sharp left at the blue wombat sitting on top of a rubbish mound, google maps sends you on the wrong journey’- more like a wild goose chase. Built along the banks of the Wilson River is a white farmhouse that these two call home.  I am greeted instantly by two ragged farm dogs; Bugsy and Ollie, who circle around my legs as an informal hello! Followed by Selena and Bob on their front porch with welcoming grins. They take me inside and I am instantly surrounded by bric-a-brac, some that has been thoughtfully collected, others enthusiastically hoarded (in the best way) by these two over the years. Incense by Comme De Garcon and freshly picked vanilla orchards infiltrated my senses. Their home is exactly as I imagined it would be. 

Selena and Bob sit opposite each other on a pair of suede and leather art deco lounges, the dogs occupy the remaining space. I sprawl across the Persian rug at their feet. There are many things I have found to appreciate about Selena, here are two; her eclectic style is so different to any other, and her carefree and not precious nature is remarkable. These points of admiration become more evident as I sit here in her home.  

Scout:  
Tell me how you two met? 

Bob:  
We met properly at the Sydney flower market. I was working selling roses and Selena was buying everything but roses, and that shat me to tears. I needed to find out who the hell she was. She owned a restaurant in Redfern, and I owned a flower shop in Darlinghurst and so our paths just never quite crossed but that's where it all blossomed.
  
Scout:  
Before Bob, where were you in your life Selena? 
   
Selena: 
I was a mess. I had just sold my restaurant and I was kind of working out what the next thing was. I had moved out of the city and was living down south near Wollongong, working out the next trajectory.
   
Scout:  
And Bob, before Selena what did life entail? 

Bob: 
I was working on a rose farm; I had been there for 10 years. I was pretty over it to be honest, but I didn’t really have a grasp on the what, where or how– I was helping other people succeed but my heart wasn’t really in it.  
When I met Selena, she was excited about flowers. That sort of rubbed off on me again. 

Scout: 
How did Immortal Soil get thrown into the mix? 

Bob:  
I guess Selena had a bit of a business doing flowers. But she never wanted to conform to the way it was supposed to be done. 

Selena:  
I tried but that's not my forte. Something wasn’t jelling. 

Bob:  
When Covid happened, we just went forward with doing whatever the hell we wanted to do. That is when we started finding the burnt-out cars in Dunoon, and it evolved out of that. I guess that is the principle of it; we do what we want to do, with the produce that we want to use, and not fall into a brief.  

Scout:  
How do you two work collaborating? 

Bob:  
I think we work really well together, I mean we are a couple obviously, and we like to bicker. 
  
Selena:   
We are both stubborn, which can be hard but also a great thing. 
  
Bob:  
We both have different strengths and don’t like to talk about projects. Selena usually draws and is quite visual. We do talk about feeling– what feelings we want the piece to evoke– it often starts with that. We like to joke about if we can’t talk then we have to act it out in a mime, which is a good laugh but doesn’t get us anywhere. 

Scout:  
How do you find operating in the Northern Rivers? 

Bob:  
I couldn’t imagine doing this anywhere else. This is our complete inspiration, and the produce that we want to use is completely abundant. We will never get through it in our lifetime. 

Selena:  
The nature here is crazy. You can be in one place and it's dry and raspy, and next minute be in a sub-tropical environment. I think people are moving here because it evokes a life that is closer to nature. Which is so different to the constant grind of the city, giving you no time to stop and feel where you are.  

Scout:  
Walk me through the practice of creating

Bob:  
Well, we always look at what is abundant I guess. So we look back to nature and the landscape to see what our options are. We also look at what time frame it will be up for. This is important as we don’t want the piece to completely rot in front of your eyes. And then there is considering the structural integrity, are we going to hang it? Are we going to build it from the ground? Most of the stuff we use is alive to some degree, but the artwork itself is almost like a creature so we start with an internal wire skeleton and build from there. 
   
Selena:   
One of the most exciting things about doing what we do is going out and finding the resources that we are going to use. 
   
Scout:  
Where do you source the majority of your materials? 
   
Bob:  
The majority are from the side of the road. Places where people just keep slashing it, killing it or attempting to kill it with weed killers. We have also met some amazing older people in the community who are involved in the growing process and are thankfully really generous.

Scout:  
Tell me about your home? 

Selena:  
We have been here just over a year now. We love it. I think it's the first house that feels like home. 
   
Bob:   
When you are living in the Northern Rivers and renting you know there are not many guarantees, but we finally feel safe and secure. Our landlord is amazing, our real estate agent equally so. You know, we have the go ahead to unpack everything and create a home.   

Scout:  
Except for if that river comes up… 
  
Selena:  
We’ve discussed that, and it sounds terrible because of the tragedy that we all went through with the floods. This place was done by those floods so before we moved in we had a discussion of the ‘what if’s’, and well, it is kind of a cathartic feeling for me because I collect.  

Bob:  
Hoard
  
Selena:  
Trying to be more of a collector…  

Bob: 
It was absolutely horrid what happened to a lot of people, and it brings it back to what is actually important to us? Each other and our pets.  

Scout: 
What is your favourite thing you own? 
  
Bob:  
I feel like I am kind of detached from my things now, I do have a tendency to collect tiny things. I am a bit obsessed with it. Like tiny frying pans with an egg in them. I love the dynamics of doing our big instillations, but I do have a tendency to do tiny unseen things.  
  
Selena:  
That’s where your skill comes in; fashioning the tiny little details.

One of my favourite things is my taxidermied cat to be honest. I have had that for so long. Everyone fucking hates it. People either love it or hate it, usually hate it. 
   
Scout:  
Alright, something you both dislike of each other but have never admitted? 

Bob:  
I feel like we have worked through everything we don’t like. We are married.
I know something that you hate Selena, but it’s not mine, it’s Ollies... 
  
Selena:  
That stupid stuffed cat that I bought for Ollie, it's just an eyesore in this home.  

Bob: 
He has completely disembowelled it. 
I've gotten rid of all the things that Selena hates.