Finalist, Anthropocene: A Living Dead Still Life

Announcing finalist in the R&G Mc Givern Memorial Painting Prize 2019. It is themed Anthropocene and calls for artists across Australia to consider the impact of human habitation on the environment. I spontaneously made this painting after finding a dead possum at my doorstep. I called it, The Recline. I was drawn to both the tenderness of the animal and the sadness of its fate. The vulnerable pose of the possum mimics a reclining nude, its eyes are partly opened and directed at the viewer. The image in the background depicts the front cover of a book by Belgian artist, Luc Tuyman showing a close up of one of his portraits.

The concept proposed by scientists to describe the current era, the Anthropocene relates to the narrative of this work as the cause of death of the possum is most likely the result of human behaviour. The protagonist (the human eyes) looks beyond his victim into a future unknown.

READ MORE about the other finalists and the venue.

The Recline, oil on linen, 2019