Projects

Transformations Between and Among Rocks and Critters

“We are all lichens; so we can be scraped off the rocks by the Furies, who still erupt to avenge crimes against the Earth. Alternatively, we can join in the metabolic transformations between and among rocks and critters, for living and dying well" (Haraway 2016, 56).

Transformations Between and Among Rocks and Critters is a response to coastal regions of both Western Australia and Scotland, focussing on the islands of Wadjemup (Rottnest) and Orkney. These islands are located at opposite ends of the earth and share a wild and unspoilt beauty. They are also home to one of the oldest living things on earth, lichen. Lichen are a unique symbiosis of fungi and algae and offer us a lens through which to consider alternative and harmonious ways of surviving climate change.

The installation comprises five elements. The painted panels, The Furies and Tomorrowing, are an emotional response to the immensity of each place; of being transported by wild places. The sculptural elements are more representative and take us from the macro to the micro with an invitation to look more closely. They seek to remind us of what we notice as time slows down. The installation Among Rocks, is a poetic tideline, each rock wrapped with copper foil and reflective of smaller versions of rocks collected from the islands. The copper sculptures, Interlaced, are hand-forged, marked with sand, fire and Verdigris and engraved with images of lichen photographed on site. They are accompanied by a second set of open copper biomorphs, Morphs. None of the copper sculptures are sealed, allowing space for time and weather to leave their marks upon the surface.

The collective works are an act of reverence for nature’s small wonders; and for the refuge and restoration found in the wild. For living well, like the lichens.

Reference

Haraway, Donna J. 2016. Staying with the Trouble : Making Kin in the Chthulucene. Durham: Duke University Press.

With special thanks to the Henderson Bespoke team for their invaluable guidance and assistance in making the copper forms. @henderson_bespoke

Installation view photographs below by Dan McCabe @artdoc_au

Finalist, Rockingham Art Prize, 2025

Finalist, Collie Art Prize, 2025

Cadmium & Cinders

“Cadmium & Cinders” examines geographical and ecological sites in close proximity to my home in North Fremantle; specifically drawing upon limestone cliffs, and areas of remnant bush that have survived as a result of pre-colonial, colonial, industrial and residential impact. I imagine the many feet that have walked the same narrow track as me, high on the cliff overlooking Rocky Bay. My endeavour in this body of work is to capture energetic echoes of past human and non-human inhabitants and translate this into abstract oil paintings.

Archival research also informed my work, particularly where the land was impacted by industrialisation leaving toxic lead, arsenic, cinders and cadmium in the soil. Some references, such as cadmium oil paints, charcoal and limestone, have formally translated onto the canvas.

Oil and charcoal on canvas or timber, 120 x 100 cm

Winner, Paddington Art Prize People’s Choice 2024

GOAT

A series about a man and a goat wandering through a treeless landscape that I made after a camping trip in the Pilbara. A nod to Sydney Nolan’s Burke series and the futility of man versus nature - but rather than a camel we have a goat. Goats were often sighted roadside, running in feral gangs or staring us down. Our northern lands are littered with stories of conquest and daring as much as it contains a history of tears and hardship. The Goat can be interpreted as the Greatest Of All Time, the devil, a symbol of power or clown.

Oil and copper foil on cradled FSC timber, 23 x 30 cm