Wednesday, April 20, 2011

Selected works and their inspiration

After receiving an inquiry from a person in USA regarding my works in the recent exhibition, at Logan art gallery - I thought I should add a little about some of them here. (note - these works are not for sale as they were subjected to too much moisture during the build-up to the recent Brisbane floods 2011)

Beauty of Patterns Lost. 2011
Beautiful day, quiet open countryside.
Anticipating uneventful, peaceful trip.
Not to be !, someone has been here before me.
Stop the car, reach for the camera,
Creaking door, reluctant steps, heavy heart.

Sensuous fur textured with blood and bone. Viscous red smeared, 
brilliant white splintered, eyes sightless, body deformed.
Metallic cloying smell, insects buzzing.

Focusing, click of camera, recording what need not be -  Waste -  Loss.
Dilemma! respectful removal of carcass, or to leave as reminder?
Leave or move, move or leave ?

Record  –  respect  –  move.

A Pouch is No protection against a Bull-bar. 
94cm x 94cm
Acrylic on canvas 



Sometimes sustainable ordered boarders cannot be maintained, to suit both the farmer and the native fauna & flora. Road’s meandering through countryside devastated by drought and abusive farm practises, results in the unwary flora needing to source their feed along the roadside where grasses still thrive: only to cause havoc when in a state of heightened terror and headlight blindness they become target practise for mammoth machines designed to protect the occupants not the outsider.
How can the people not be aware that these animals have a right to life too?


'Too Far, Too few'
Acrylic on canvas

Changes can make survival for some species near impossible. Introduction of vegetation that replaces the necessary food sources of resident species, can make their survival unachievable. They must travel too far to gain too little. 

'Paradise Bird Lost'
Acrylic on canvas

Extinction happens. Paradise Parrot - A colorful parrot species native to the northeastern region of Australia, this bird was included on the list of 17 extinct birds, in the last 100 years, in 1927. Hunting by bird collectors and predation by feral cats were responsible for its decline.

'A tangled web and a very fine thread'
Acrylic on canvas


The recent floods have bought home to us all, just how fragile we are. We continuously weave a tangled web of complicated lives. However, when Gaia, Mother Nature, the chosen Entity, or the ecosystem forces its hand, we can find our best-laid plans unravel very quickly. 


Biodiversity is a slippery subject.
Acrylic on canvas

Biodiversity is the foundation of life on Earth. It is crucial for the functioning of ecosystems, which provide us with products and services without which we could not live. Oxygen, food, fresh water, fertile soil, medicines, shelter, protection from storms and floods, stable climate, and recreation - all have their source in nature and healthy ecosystems. 


I remember tall Trees
Acrylic on canvas


Unlike foods and other products that we buy in supermarkets, many ecosystem services have no price tag attached to them. This means that the importance of biodiversity and natural processes in providing benefits to people, is often ignored by financial markets.