SACRED GROUND 2026 (in progress)
‘Earth Altar;
Ground Earth Pigment, copper verdigris, charcoal, binder on linen, Australian Hardwood, hinges
210cmx285cm. $14,000.
Selected for the John Leslie Art Prize 2026
The ‘altar tryptico’ was a particularly common artwork format used for depicting religious narratives during the Baroque and Renaissance. In these works, paint was also made using natural pigments in oil and as tempera.
I have drawn inspiration from the composition of significant Christian works including the Isenheim Altarpiece by Grünewald and Hagenauer; reframing the ‘altar’ to elevate the Gippsland landscape and my experiences in it.
Painted in carefully collected and processed Gippsland earth pigment, the central panels speak of a deep treefern gully, reaching forward in open embrace of the pilgrim viewer. The lower panel, a window into the secret humus underworld, where quiet fungi and gently browning windfall softens your step. Above, black cockatoos erupt from treetops into the firmament. A sacred place of reflection for all denominations - in reverence of all the growing, reaching, permeating, germinating wonder.