Some time ago I was asked from a builder friend to supply some artwork for his house in Tasmania. They wanted some art for the walls ready for the final reveal on Grand Designs Australia.

You’ll find them in season 9, episode 3, TAMAR “Stepped” TASMANIA.

Prints are available of any of the images seen in the show.
See below for details or email me info@the7thworld.com

I emailed some bits and pieces that I already had, but I wanted to create something special for them too.

As I partially live in Tasmania, it was a case of chatting over wine to discuss the images and also what colours the couple had in mind for the bathroom, which is where he wanted a special, large piece of artwork.

Here’s the funny part, I asked what size he had in mind, he said ‘Oh, about 1.5mtrs’.

‘That’s pretty big, are you sure?’

‘Yeah, larger the better’

He’s a builder and kinda knows sizes, right. So, I created a piece that belonged in the bathroom and made statements about being yourself and not pretending to be like others. Stripping back everything and not pretending. I’ll go into more detail later, but when I delivered the piece all neatly rolled up, he said ‘Wow that’s big!’. I just laughed.

We rolled it out and he said ‘I can’t believe how big it is.’

‘About 1.5mtrs square’

We both laughed as he looked over the detail of the piece. He panicked a little at how he was going to frame it but luckily he had a framer just down the road. The framer also panicked at the shear size of it and I heard later that she would never do another that size. She did a great though with the gold frame that highlighted elements within the image.

The images were printed and framed in Hobart, where I picked them up in a ute. It was a stressful travel from Hobart to Deviot, which is just outside of Launceston. Stopping constantly for checking, tightening ropes and that the ute hadn’t bounce too much to shatter the glass. The trip took a lot longer heading back.

The image in the bathroom sparked me to do a mini series of them. I’ll keep doing them when I have time.

I don’t have any images of the pictures in place in the house, which is a shame as they worked really well. The views are spectacular and the beautiful house just sits perfectly into the block of land. The design is so well thought out from every angle. The pitch of the roofs to not spoil views from bedrooms etc. The fireplace is extra special and one I was looking at for my place in Tassie, sadly we couldn’t make it work with my listed building, which has 1800s features.

Some of the images were created for a project with Tiny Owl Workshop (Small press in Brisbane) titled Unfettered. The horses were part of an exhibition in Brisbane and were titled ‘Four Horses of the Apocalypse’.

Below are the artworks and a little bit about them.

Veil

This piece is a statement about not pretending to be someone else. The slightly battered masculine paper mask is pulled up to see the real face underneath. The locusts being a pest, will eat you away if you are not true to yourself. The blackberry are considered weed that can overcome the situation if you let it, although can seduce you with its sweet berries.

Horses of the Apocalypse

These horses were part of an exhibition. More can be read about them in a previous post here.

White Deer

Who doesn’t love a white deer. They are so magical and cunjure up fantasies of long lost lands. The child in the image pretends to be a deer spreading their hands like antlers. Is the child imagening the deer with flower tip antlers or actually with the deer wanting to be part of its world.

Bees

This is an ink painting which was scanned and cleaned up to be able to be printed large. I love to escape into worlds from time to time and this piece inspired a story called ‘Little Lucy’. As a TV kid, I grew up watching films based on Roald Dahl stories and stopmotion films, where I think my imagination was born. To escape this world for a while to wander through a world of make believe is something I do often.

Skin

This piece was an experiment really. During Autumn I went out and collected various pieces around the area I live. I found the Galah skull first and it quickly built from there as it sparked an idea. It was done placing the elements onto a scanner and in one scan capturing what was on the glass. It was created in one scan with no photo editing. I simply cleaned some of the annoying dust particles. I called it skin as the elements were things that shed from plants as they go into Winter, ready to regenerate for Spring, a kind of rebirth from a natural perspective. And also being that the scan only has the very top layer in focus which is what we see in life.

Sleeping

This piece has a few meanings. Protection for animals, should we let it happen by closing our eyes to it. Or do certain species need to be culled in order to keep balance. The small game image is reminiscent of the period paintings of hunting game, although beautiful they envoke many questions. The girl in the centre holds arrows as a guard but also can be translated to mean she is the hunter.

You can buy prints and have them printed smaller if needed. Just let me know and I can organise print and shipping to anywhere in the world. They will be printed by the same company who are specialists in their field and supply to MONA art gallery in Tasmania. They will be printed using archival inks and paper. The same company also frame the artworks if you wish to have it all done in one place.

Email if you like to know any other details and or other images you see on the site.