Biography

Born(1972) in Sydney, Australia and living with my wife and daughter in Mittagong NSW as practicing artist and working part time in the Photography Department of the Australian Museum.

Living and working in the Southern Highlands of New South Wales provides a platform for my research into what makes a regional community tick. There’s a tangible sense of optimism in our community. People are not nameless faces, they have time for each other and the pace in which we live our lives is slower and richer than city life. My work aims to reflect and comment on these realities.

Country shacks, people at work, children at play, and mysterious figures in landscapes form the basis of my imagery while discarded books form a canvas for my more intimate paintings. I enjoy creating deliberate obscurity or subtle links between book title and subject matter. Old hardbacks and the stories within conjure up so many of the ideas that I’m trying to address in my work. They have a beautiful patina and a canvas like quality which makes a natural choice for me to start painting on them. .

My recent body of work focuses on the removal and relocation of Old Adaminaby to make way for the building of the Eucumbene dam. The remains of the town, usually submerged reappeared two years ago due to falling dam levels. Wondering around the foundations of houses, remnants of gardens, the old streets and pouring over discarded material allows for quiet introspection over the towns demise and the relocation of an entire community.

Education

 

2011 - Masters of Creative Arts, Wollongong University.

2000 - 2001 Certificate III Photography. Ultimo TAFE, Sydney

1994 Diploma of Fine Arts (deferred after completing First year). National Art School, Darlinghurst, Sydney

1990 – 1993 Bachelor of Arts in fine arts and Archaeology. Sydney University NSW

Exhibitions

 

2010 Solo show at Becker Minty, Sydney

2009 Solo show at Becker Minty, Sydney

2009 Solo show at Goulburn Regional Gallery

2008 Solo show at Bousaada Winery, Mittagong

2008 Solo show at Becker Minty, Sydney

2006 Group show at Demeter Gallery, Sydney

2005 Group show at Demeter Gallery, Sydney

2005 Solo show of recent paintings at Greenhill Galleries, Adelaide

2004 Solo show of French Paintings at Greenhill Galleries, Adelaide

2004 Group show at Melbourne Affordable Art Fair represented by Gallery 1011, Melbourne

2003 – 2004 Solo show of recent work at Bar Sirocco, Sydney

2003 Finalist in Works on Paper Prize. Hazlehurst Gallery, Sydney

2002 Group show of photographic images. Images from Science, The Australian Museum, Sydney

Collections

The South Australian Museum.
St. Luke’s Hospital, Darlinghurst Sydney.
Macquarie Bank, Sydney.
Various private collections in Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane, and Adelaide.

Awards and Prizes

 

2011 Finalist Premier's Plein Air Prize

2011 Regional winner Goulburn Art Prize

2003 Overall winner of the inaugural Waterhouse Natural History Art Prize at the South Australian Museum, Adelaide.

Other Professional
Experience

 

1996 – Present. Part time work as a digital technician and photographer at the Australian Museum, Sydney.

October 2003. Travel to France as part of the Waterhouse Prize to work on images for the 2004 exhibition at Greenhill Galleries, Adelaide.

2002. Exhibition project team for the development of ‘Images from Science’. An exhibition staged at the Australian museum that promoted the artistic talents of museum staff in relation to their field of work.