About the Artwork

On Tasmania’s West Coast, the residue of Mt Lyell’s mining pursuits permeates the landscape that it has unnaturally carved. Acidic tailing pollution turns once still, clear rivers lurid orange while the naked hills that border Queenstown emanate a similar hue. The King Billy Pine pipe staves that contain this painting once held the cold still waters of Lake Margaret, along with its ancient stories. The tree remains a pre-colonial relic of a different history and a depth of time one cannot understand. It is a remnant, a sliver of history, yet alludes to possible futures through its act of remembrance.