Tim and Kelp (portrait of Tim Flannery)

‘Tim, I am worried about global warming, climate change, the environmental crisis that is threatening our everyday lives. Our children. I don’t know what to do. But you do,’ I commented. Hopeful.

Tim’s idea of using seaweed to combat climate change came to mind when our country was in the midst of the bushfires earlier this year.

Author of ‘Atmosphere of Hope’, Tim Flannery is an Australian environmental activist. ‘Tim and Kelp’ was the product of 5 years of observation and study and 6 months of painting. I first painted over 15 layers of green and red, as if farming kelp on the canvas. Tim then emerged from the kelp. The symbiosis between humans and the environment resonates with Eastern philosophies of human beings as being part of a fragile nature. Insignificant. Tim is a much-needed voice of urgency.

‘Tim and Kelp’ is a call to action. A call to combine creativity, science and ecological awareness. Like the relationship between nature and humans, my interdisciplinary practice explores the complex relationships between light and shadow.

‘It is a grave threat, but a threat that can be overcome,’ Tim assures me. There is hope.

Archibald, Wynne and Sulman Prizes 2020
26 Sep 2020 – 10 Jan 2021
Art Gallery of NSW
https://www.artgallery.nsw.gov.au/prizes/archibald/2020/30257/

Archibald Prize 2020 Tour
Tweed Regional Gallery and Margaret Olley Art Centre 
22 January – 7 March 2021
Cairns Art Gallery 
19 March – 2 May 2021
Griffith Regional Art Gallery 
14 May – 27 June 2021
Broken Hill Regional Art Gallery 
9 July – 22 August 2021
Shoalhaven Regional Gallery 
3 September – 17 October 2021
Penrith Regional Gallery, Home of the Lewers Bequest 
29 October 2021 – 9 January 2022