Waiting For Winter

Robert Pogue Harrison’s idea that “gardens are humanly created things” served as a key point of inspiration for this work, shaping both its conceptual and aesthetic direction. The title Waiting for Winter speaks directly to the shifting rhythms of the natural world and the growing unpredictability of the seasons brought about by climate change—particularly its impact on plant health and growth cycles. This painting functions as part still life, part idealised landscape, with subtle allusions to the surreal. The lace-like matrix of banksia rose stems behind the row of potted plants, positioned on the ledge, creates a visual framework that draws attention to the central ceramic figure—poised in a state of quiet anticipation. The rounded shapes of the pots, the soft curves of the garden bed in the midground, and the organic forms of the plants are all carefully composed to evoke a rhythmic harmony, evoking an underlying order amidst the apparent chaos of the scene.

This painting is from the exhibition and publication, Gardens: Fragments of Life and Loss – an artistic enquiry that systematically explores themes of memory, impermanence, and transformation through the motif of the garden. Drawing upon visual language and observational practices, the body of work investigates how natural environments serve as metaphors for human experience, particularly in relation to loss and regeneration. The paintings communicate knowledge by documenting and interpreting the cyclical processes of change and adaptation in nature, offering insights into how landscapes reflect emotional and cultural memory. This body of work contributes to interdisciplinary dialogues between art, ecology, and the human condition through a methodical engagement with site, material, and temporality.