IMMERSION AT AMBUSH GALLERY

Being part of the IMMERSION show at aMBUSH Gallery was a pleasure, a privilege, and at times, utter chaos.

Paintings

I showed two paintings, "DREAM HOME" and "TRANQUIL SETTING", named after the buzzwords that realtors are so fond of. These were inspired by the Australian dream of being a homeowner, one that is likely to remain merely a dream for many Aussies.

DREAM HOME, oil on canvas, 60x80cm

This painting is inspired by the Australian dream of being a homeowner, one that is increasingly a fantasy for many Aussies. I folded a paper cutout of the simple house I drew as a child. Squares and triangles to represent the home I assumed was in my destiny.

I was raised on the idea that adults go to work, they earn incomes, they buy houses. I watched Burke’s Backyard and imagined my own home, with the verandah out the back, and an old rocking chair. My parents owned a furniture business; their clients spoke constantly about doing “reno”. I felt strongly that I would be one of them, one day.

I became an adult. I earned a healthy income as a lawyer. I got a dozen emails a day from real estate agencies with the latest listings. But home ownership still seemed faraway. At best, it loomed as an uncomfortable prospect of decades of debt.

When I quit my job, I knew I was probably giving up the dream. As an artist I face a career that feels inherently uncertain in a world full of uncertainty. This painting is about coming to terms with the reality that I might never buy a home in the way I imagined, an experience I share with many others. It’s about compassion for the child who was so full of certainty, precious and naive.

I don’t dream about being a homeowner anymore. If it happens, it happens. If not, it is what it is. But I love that I dreamed, and that if I sacrificed this one dream, then it was to make way for new ones.

TRANQUIL SETTING, acrylic on canvas, 30x30cm. *SOLD*

This painting emerged from the memory of visiting Te Anau in New Zealand, standing on the shore of the lake, watching the clouds course over the mountains. The cold wind breathing fresh life into everything.

But I was only there for a few days, staying in a nearby Airbnb. One of the realities of travel is that the luxury of being able to visit another country is only a temporary, borrowed one.

While we were in town we looked at house listings in the shopfront of a realtor, where properties were described with buzzwords like "serene escapes", "idyllic waterfront paradise", and "tranquil setting". Those words promise a dream, but they also put a price on it.

Sculptures

I also showed a pair of polymer clay works, TURNKEY TOWN #1 and TURNKEY TOWN #2, based on my memories of inspecting cookie cutter houses in new suburban houses around Sydney.

TURNKEY TOWN #1, polymer clay

These sculptures are inspired by tract housing developments around Sydney. I used to visit these as a child with my parents. House after house, all of them seemingly identical, full of brand new furniture and smelling like Pine O Clean. Turnkey homes: just sign the contract and receive the keys to your new home.

They were lovely as dollhouses. But they felt too perfect, and unlike homes at all.

Behind the scenes