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.
En plein air series of oil paintings on linen with custom hand carved hardwood frames representing the landscape as traditional religious icons. 20x30cm.