A new body of work: as of yet not completed, and in many ways a culmination of all the paintings I have done in this country for the last 2 decades.
Maralinga is what happens when absolute and total disregard of any consequences is shown to the land and its people. In many ways, it is the apex of the effects of colonialism in its most arrogant form and it has never had real consequences for the perpetrators, as is the case with such acts of political and environmental violence.
I painted two versions of a triptych entitled "Road to Maralinga” in 2007, that only hinted at this important part of Australian history, as I had not yet had a chance to visit.
As fate would have it, one of these was included in a nationally touring show titled Black Mist Burnt Country in 2016, showcasing the work of several Australian Artists as well as the local indigenous community at Yalata, examining the legacy of the atomic bomb tests at Maralinga.
It was through Black Mist Burnt Country that I got the chance to visit Maralinga in September 2018, as well as visit the proposed nuclear waste dump sites at Barndioota and Kimba, South Australia.
(Update as of December 2020: The Federal Government has picked Kimba as the preferred site, but the Senate has rejected to pass the act. So the gov has postponed a decision on it.)
