august, 2020
17aug(aug 17)9:00 am14sep(sep 14)5:00 pm
Event Details
Place your vote to help your favourite Queensland Regional Art Awards 2020 entry win a People’s Choice Award. Selected artists will also be in the running to be included in the Decadence touring exhibition, touring across Queensland 2020 – 2022.
People’s Choice Award Prizes
Adults: $1,250 cash, non acquisitive, thanks to TAFE Queensland
Youth (aged 17 – 25 years): $750, cash, non acquisitive, thanks to TAFE Queensland
Voting Process
You may vote once for an Adult Category artwork, and once for a Youth Category artwork.
- Click on the individual images below to view an artwork, read the artist statement, and reveal their voting link.
- To vote you must fill out the form and provide your real name and email address for confirmation.
- A confirmation email will be sent to your nominated email address to confirm your vote. You will need to click ‘confirm vote’ to validate and confirm your submission. If you do not confirm your vote through this email your vote will not be valid.
In 2020 the Queensland Regional Art Awards (QRAA) celebrates 10 years, a decade of rewarding and celebrating Queensland regional arts and the wealth of creativity and imagination thriving in the regions.
The QRAA is an annual visual arts prize and exhibition for established and emerging artists living in regional and remote Queensland. The program aims to provide a platform for further professional development. The Queensland Regional Art Awards is open to all Queensland artists living outside of the Brisbane City Council area.
Theme: Decadence
Decadence may invite notions of luxury and self-indulgence. It may evoke ideas of wanton excess or wastefulness, perhaps with a casual or deliberate disregard of consequence. Dependent on circumstance, personal definitions of decadence can shift quite suddenly.
Artists are encouraged to explore the complex notion of decadence within their own communities and households across Queensland – both in times of shortage, and in times of plenty.
Adult Category – Click on individual images to view and vote
Paradise Lost (Vote for this Artwork)
Amanda Dickson, 2020
Artist Location: Maroochy River
Medium: Oil on canvas
Dimensions: 76 x 101 x 4 cm
Artist Statement:
The word ‘decadence’ probably won’t be associated with 2020; however, having escaped illness, unemployment and homelessness, my family’s life could be considered decadent by those who have been touched by tragedy. The biggest loss we suffered was the cancellation of our annual family holiday camping on Masthead Island. Nothing devastating, but to us this holiday is everything – it binds our souls as a family. Two weeks of snorkelling, living on the beach, in touch with tide and moon cycles. No housework, homework, cars, internet; no care for the world… cancelled due to lockdown. We grieved and felt guilty for grieving as we watched the horror unfold overseas. We understood how lucky we were, which made our grief seem petty. It seemed decadent to mourn our island holiday, making it the perfect subject matter for my work.
Photographer: Amanda Dickson
Pause
View Video Artwork
Renee Yates, 2019
Artist Location: East Ipswich
Medium: Animation
Dimensions: Variable cm
Artist Statement:
Pause (2019) reflects the decadent nature of seeking stillness in a society that so often venerates the busy. A moving-image streetscape, the work invites viewers to “take a pause” and explore the intricacies of the world that are often missed in the hustle and bustle of modern life. Made in a pre-COVID world, the image’s audio-visual elements, comprising of field recordings and subtle animation of clouds, planes, birds, chimney smoke, flickering lights and falling jacaranda blooms, pull the viewers into the decadence of standing still in a suburban world. On process: a series of hand cut painted paper collages, photographs, and pastel and charcoal strokes were digitised and arranged then animated then brought to life with a field recording of Queensland suburbia.
Photographer: Renee Yates
societatem ab intus putrescit (Vote for this Artwork)
Cara-Ann Simpson, 2020
Artist Location: Toogoom
Medium: Pigment print on Ilford gold fibre gloss rag
Dimensions: 76 x 76 x 0 cm
Artist Statement:
societatem ab intus putrescit (society rots from the inside) is from Furari Flores (Stealing Flowers) – a series of vanitas artworks exploring ephemerality and societal decay.
This series acts as a nexus between commentary on personal challenges and an outward interpretation of global news. They are an ironic reminder of the innate beauty found simultaneously in decadence and decay.
A nod to the Victorian symbol of jealousy and momento mori post-mortem photography, ?societatem ab intus putrescit? reflects our society and the inherent decadence and selfishness of individual acts leading to rot and decay. I am not innocent, and have often chosen the convenient, accessible or affordable option, rather than review my daily choices to reflect my ethical beliefs.
This work also symbolises my health – that visually I often appear vibrant, while my inner workings continue to degenerate as my neurological illness wreaks unseen havoc. My work often incorporates spectrographs (visual analysis of soundwaves), and this one is found sparkling in the lower petals – imperfectly perfect.
Photographer: Cara-Ann Simpson
Seagull and Crane – a traditional Lardil story from Mornington Island
Joelene Roughsey, 2020
Artist Location: Gununa, Mornington Island
Medium: Acrylic on linen
Dimensions: 101.5 x 101 x 2 cm
Artist Statement:
This Traditional story shows that avoiding responsibility and assuming a decadent, privileged attitude and being a bully will result in some real consequences. This story is told often here on island.
Seagull and Crane – A traditional Lardil story from Mornington Island
On peaceful Bende Reef, out from Biberr, lived the Seagull Woman and her husband, the Crane Man and their little baby. The Crane Man would go out hunting for fish, oysters, and crabs. Sometimes he’d bring back a little bit of food for the family, but not always.
One day when he did come back with food, Crane said to his wife, “Well, Seagull, you gotta get up and cook now. I got some food here for you to cook and it’s my turn to have a rest.” And, then he went and laid down. Sometimes he would just eat his catch out there where he was hunting, and sometimes he didn’t come back at all. One time he was gone for three years.
After three years he walked back up and said, “Hey, it’s me. I’ve come back.” Seagull Woman was not impressed. Seagull Woman took the baby on her little walpa (raft) and dragged it along, dragged it along with the rope.
And she dragged, and she dragged it round and round and round. Cutting deep channels into the land until the water flooded in. While she dragged that walpa she sang that lajirambena (lullaby) song. And so she separated the islands from the mainland by creating those channels of water.
Some people say that Seagull Woman also put a curse on the Crane Man. Because nowadays the Crane can only hunt in shallow water. But Seagull Woman, she’s strong. She can hunt on the open sea, she can fly around and dive, and she can hunt in shallow water or deep water. She has a big family and can look after herself.
Photographer: MIART Mornington Island Art
Mottlecah, Eucalyptus macrocarpa study
Jenny Gilbertson, 2020
Artist Location: Bundaberg
Medium: Pencil on paper
Dimensions: 19 x 93.5 x 6 cm
Artist Statement:
In-your-face opulence; a visual stunner! That’s how I remember my first encounter with Eucalyptus macrocarpa, or Mottlecah. Innumerable encounters later this tough, ungainly beauty still stops me in my tracks. If I could grow it in my garden I would. Geometric spirals of tightly packed blue grey leaves spread in patches along dark spindly branches, winding towards the sky and trailing downwards. Soft white velvet fur on each new leaf contrasts with a smooth sharpness as they age. And the flowers; the shear size of them is astounding! They burst from their enormous gumnut cocoons as vibrant flashes of red, tipped with yellow pollen. Luscious. This indulgent display in a harsh, dry landscape seems to sing of absolute joy in being: a show of decadence even when things are tough.
Photographer: Jenny Gilbertson
Postcode (study three) (Vote for this Artwork)
Barbara Pierce, 2020
Artist Location: Townsville
Medium: Acrylic and collage on stitched canvas
Dimensions: 21 x 81 x 1 cm
Artist Statement:
Everything originates from – or is contained within – a landscape. Postcodes are used as a unique identifier of place within a given landscape. This doorstep sized work with landscape qualities has been created with colourful areas contained within ‘Postcode’ rectangles on a ‘coal black’ ground. The canvas has been cut and stitched – mended – before painting. Each rectangle contains pieces of photographs: imagery of the environment near where I live.
Building more fossil fuel infrastructure and indulging in the economic benefits whilst ignoring environmental concerns can be viewed as an act of decadence. Mining for coal provides an immediate solution for employment while at the same time poses a very real threat to the environment and global societies in the long term.
In the colourful tropical north we currently have Adani mining the natural habitat not far from our doorstep. It could be said that decadence has a postcode.
Photographer: Barbara Pierce
I am here (Vote for this Artwork)
Gayle Fleming, 2020
Artist Location: Goodna
Medium: Acrylic on paper
Dimensions: 29.7 x 21 x 0 cm
Artist Statement:
I am a late bloomer in the world of visual art. I am a self taught painter. I find with every piece a huge learning experience, and I am eager to develop my work. Acrylic, ink, pencil and watercolour is the medium I use. Line, shape, form and blending colours create my light free flowing style. Margaret Olley is one of my favourite artists as she reflected an influencers lifestyle that I feel I can connect with. My art depicts a vibracy in plant form and flora. Connecting with nature is my desire, as it is good medicine for my soul.
For this piece, I have changed my subject and technique to produce a more abstract illusion with a message that’s thought provoking and gripping for the viewer. Our personal connections between family and friends is what gives our life meaning. Although our indulgence and obsession with screens makes us all disconnected.
Photographer: Gayle Fleming
TWO UP Come in Spinner (Vote for this Artwork)
View Video Artwork
Warren (Buck) Richardson, 2020
Artist Location: Kuranda
Medium: Digital Art Video
Dimensions: Variable
Artist Statement:
Captivated by their beauty, I have photographed a ‘collection’ of over 1500 species of moths, spending countless hours staring at my screen as I magnify and move their patterns and colours around in my digital art. Decadence put me in mind of gamblers who can similarly get hooked by the colours and movement on their pokies screens. But decadence and beauty combine in a paradox – whether it’s roulette wheels or the roll of the dice on casino gaming tables, the colours, sounds and lights are exciting. Betting is part of our culture. Even governments are dependent on the revenue. From the ANZAC tradition of TWO UP Come in Spinner, to the gee-gees at the Melbourne Cup or even the stock market, most Australians have a wager on something. But for some gamblers such mesmerising patterns become a decadent addiction, a vice, leaving the punter in a spin, their money burnt.
Photographer: Warren (Buck) Richardson
Roasted Coral Compote Topped with Whipped Cream (Vote for this Artwork)
Maharlina Gorospe-Lockie, 2020
Artist Location: Palm Cove
Medium: Acrylic on canvas
Dimensions: 91.4 x 91.4 x 2.5 cm
Artist Statement:
Whipped cream elevates a dessert’s taste and appearance, an extra scoop of pleasure that is oftentimes best avoided but added anyway. My work aims to tease the viewer, like an indulgent dessert would; but upon closer inspection, there is a message and it is not palatable to the mind and sensibilities. A bleached brain coral towering over a reef of stunning colors is not a visual treat to behold, but a signal of stress that, if unchecked and further aggravated, could lead to the coral’s demise. Recent surveys on the Great Barrier Reef have shown the most severe and most widespread mass coral bleaching event in the region to date. We know for a fact that human induced climate change is the culprit, but tragically, we are too slow to do something about it. Would you prefer some whipped cream to go with that?
Photographer: Daniela Vavrova
Sunset Over Purga (Vote for this Artwork)
Grant Quinn, 2020
Artist Location: Bundamba
Medium: Digital photograph
Dimensions: 30 x 30 x 1 cm
Artist Statement:
Louis Armstrong once sang “What A Wonderful World”.
We live in a world full of hope, but over time, society has taken our world for granted. A world of decadent greed, a world that seems to spend to much time pointing the finger of blame, instead of working towards positive solutions. Topics such as climate change, emissions and waste being top on the agenda, but we need to step up, together, and make this world a better place, not just for us now, but for the generations to come. If we all make a change, we can continue to see our world at the end of each day, as it should be, one beautiful sunset after another.
Photographer: Grant Quinn
Turquoise Tides (Vote for this Artwork)
Rosie Lloyd-Giblett, 2020
Artist Location: Noosaville
Medium: Acrylic on board
Dimensions: 120 x 92 x 8 cm
Artist Statement:
Over the last few months we have spent a lot of time in our local areas, my location is the Sunshine Coast. My current works have been based around the theme…Somewhere not far from home. This particular work “Turquoise Tides” tries to capture the colors of the ocean floor and the decadence of swimming. You feel a sense of freedom when you watch light reflect through the water and feel the lull of the waves. Our lives have been essentially “Locked Down” in emotion and contact with loved ones who live afar. I have felt guilty with my pleasure of swimming in the salt water but I am thankful for mother nature.
Photographer: Tonia Cecil
These Are A Few Of My Favourite Things
Grant Quinn, 2020
Artist Location: Bundamba
Medium: Digital photograph
Dimensions: 73 x 58 x 1 cm
Artist Statement:
With a passion for collecting, my decadent obsession started many years ago after being gifted a Wedgwood Gravy Boat by my Grandmother. I still have that gravy boat, sitting front and centre in my dining room display cabinet, but little was I to know that this simple gravy boat would lead to a life time of becoming a ‘mad collector’, driving miles in the search for that next bargain. Before I knew it, I became one of the torch light brigade bargain hunters, scouring markets, fairs and garage sales well before the sun came up. Seeking out that elusive piece to add to my already overflowing abundant decadent obsession.
Photographer: Grant Quinn
Rise (Vote for this Artwork)
Second Image of Artwork
Amber Countryman, 2020
Artist Location: Rockhampton
Medium: Fine black leather, cast sterling silver.
Dimensions: 4 x 26 x 23 cm
Artist Statement:
In this artwork I am acknowledging the situations I have let myself fall into simply by not standing my ground. I have formed a habit of keeping others happy, disregarding my own wellbeing and begging for approval. While I continue to build strength and know myself better, I am aware that habits are hard to break and I need to firm up personal boundaries. My solution is this stylish knee attire, using the fear of physical self-harm to prevent the inevitable emotional self-harm, made with these lavish materials to remind myself that I am worth it, that I am not here to play the submissive role any longer, I deserve better.
Photographer: Amber Countryman
Two Pair too Many (Vote for this Artwork)
Joolie Gibbs, 2020
Artist Location: Gympie
Medium: Handmade inks (bunya, Indonesian spinach, lichen) on paper
Dimensions: 32.5 x 64.5 x 0 cm
Artist Statement:
At 18 I had two pairs of shoes – thongs and sandshoes. Now I have over 40! I am reflecting on these two pairs, one made in India, the other in Thailand before I toss them out. My purchase of these shoes has added to the $250 billion footwear industry. An industry responsible for one-fifth of the environmental impacts generated by the apparel industry. The debate of who has the larger footprint (pun intended), leather or viscose or plastic, as they all lead to deforestation in critical systems, not to mention the labour violations in a not too transparent industry. Do we question where they come from or how they were produced? My decadence has caught me out. Yes, I definitely have more than two pairs of shoes too many.
Photographer: Joolie Gibbs
Two Boys and Two Devils – a traditional Yangkaal story from Forsyth Island (Vote for this Artwork)
John Williams, 2020
Artist Location: Gununa, Mornington Island
Medium: Acrlic on Belgian linen
Dimensions: 102 x 102 x 2 cm
Artist Statement:
This Traditional story tells about how greediness and disrespect always come back to bite you on the bum. This is a cautionary tale and is also one of the important dances and songs of the Lardil people here on Mornington Island.
Two Boys and Two Devils – a traditional Yangkaal story from Forsyth Island
A long time ago on Gurraben Reef off Forsyth Island, two little boys were making a fire with firesticks. Up above, two malgarn (devil-birds) were singing out, “Wii!”
The two boys heard them and mocked them, singing out, “Wii!”
The two malgarn again sang out, “Wii!”
And the two boys again copied them – “Wii!”
Then the malgarn sang out louder, “Wii!”
And the two boys again copied them – “Wii!”
And again, the malgarn sang out even louder, “Wii!”
And again, the two boys copied them, singing out even louder, “Wii!”
The malgarn jumped down and grabbed those two boys and wrapped them up in a net. They dragged the net south onto a sandbank. One malgarn said, “Come over here, let the two boys lay down there in the net. You and I can go to the point and make some firesticks.”They left the boys tied up in the net near the ocean in the south-west and went to the north-east to try and make a fire to cook them.
The malgarn rubbed their firesticks, jila, jila, jila, jila! They started to get fire. They rubbed again, but the fire wouldn’t start. Maltha (nothing). Meanwhile, the two boys were still on the sandbank, struggling to escape from the net.
“Have you got anything like a knife or tomahawk to cut this net?” asked one boy. “No,” replied the other boy, “but look! I’ve got a bottle here beside me!” “Well, that’s alright,” said the first boy, “Go on, cut it with the bottle!” So, he tore and cut at the net until he made his way out.
The first boy was still inside, looking to see how far away the malgarn are. He was worried they would see them escape. The other boy reassured him, “They’re far away, far off to the east.”
“You go out first, then I’ll come out after you.” The first boy came out then and together they rolled down the sandbank. Rolling, rolling, rolling, rolling, right into the saltwater. They swam and they swam, all the way west back to Forsyth Island. The two malgarn were still trying to make fire.
“Right,” said one, “Go and get them now. We’ll eat while it’s still light.” The other malgarn went and looked. He called out “Hey, there’s nothing here! No boys! They’ve gone!” “Get them!” said the first malgarn, “Don’t hide them! I won’t give you any. Get my food!” “They’re not here,” said the other one, “Look, there’s nothing!”
“Get them! Don’t hide that food of mine. I want to eat them. Don’t hide them for no reason!” “They’re not here! You look for them!” The first, malgarn started heading to the north-east, ready for a fight. He picked up the net and looked in every corner. The two boys were really gone.
Of course, the two malgarn blamed each other for losing the boys. And then of course they started fighting. They fought each other all over the place – in the west and north and south and east. While they were fighting shooting stars fell down into the ocean. Well, when they finally had enough of fighting, the two malgarn thought that maybe they should try looking for the boys.
“Come on, you go to the north side and I’ll go to the south side.” While they were looking, they sang a song in Yangkaal. “Danda gurra, danda gurra, danda gurra, danda gurra, danda gurra, danda gurra, danda gurra. Danda warrirr!”
After a while two malgarn still hadn’t found any sign of the two boys. They took off and flew over Robert Island and back to Forsyth Island in search of the boys. They landed on a sandbank at Marragadba, wandered around to the west and did durlda (shit) there. The people saw those malgarn in the west and quickly sent the boys to the east side. But then the malgarn went east too. “Here they are on the east side, wandering around. Hide the children, those boys. Hide them all!”
They did their best to hide the children, but the malgarn must have heard them, because next thing they flew over and landed right there in the middle of the people’s camp. The malgarn asked the people, “Are our good ones here? The ones who ran here a little while ago?” “We don’t have anyone,” the people replied. “Don’t hide them! Don’t hide them! yelled the malgarn. “Get my devil’s children! Get my children!”
The people were worried, so they bring out one little child to offer to the malgarn. “This is the one, right? This one?” “No, that one’s bad, he has a big stomach. That one’s yours, he’s bad.”
They brought out another child. “Is it this one?” “That one’s bad too. He’s bad, with a skinny body.”
They brought out two more children. “How about these two?” “No, those are your bad ones, leave them. Those are bad, they’ve got skinny bodies.”
They brought out two more children. “How about these two?” “No, those are your bad ones, leave them. Those are bad, they’ve got skinny bodies.” The malgarn explained exactly what they were looking for. Eventually the people were forced to bring out the two boys who had escaped from the devils’ net. “How about these two people?”
“Yes, those are ours,” the malgarn said. “Bring them up!” Well, the people weren’t so silly as to give their boys away that easily. “Righto!” said one of the men, “Before you take these boys, go over there and shake-a-leg.” The malgarn started to shake-a-leg, because by now they were ready to do anything to be able to eat those two delicious boys. But the people continued with their plan …
“Go on, put your legs wider apart,” they said. “Open your legs.” The two malgarn opened their legs wider still, and the men all speared them. The malgarn were writhing in pain. And then they flew straight up into the sky with the white spears sticking out behind them. And they kept on going up until they disappeared out of sight.
Photographer: MIART Mornington Island Art
Grandma’s Gravy Boat (Vote for this Artwork)
Grant Quinn, 2020
Artist Location: Bundamba
Medium: Digital photograph
Dimensions: 30 x 30 x 1 cm
Artist Statement:
What started as a gesture of kindness, a simple gravy boat, handed down to me from my grandmother. Little was I to know, that this simple gravy boat would begin my journey and decadent obsession of becoming a collector. Having lived and worked throughout Regional Qld from Goondiwindi to Blackwater to Ipswich, Grandma’s Gravy boat was always with me. Reminding me of my need to explore thrift stores, op shops, antique stores and more. Searching for that elusive piece that finishes a collection, or starts a new one. Pieces that tell a story. Stories of family, of love, of tragedy, of life, and like the memories I have of my grandmother and her white gravy boat with the navy blue stripe.
Photographer: Grant Quinn
Fraser Island
Caitlin Broderick, 2019
Artist Location: Toowoomba
Medium: Acrylic on canvas
Dimensions: 76 x 50.5 x 3.5 cm
Artist Statement:
Standing on cascading shores, breathing in the clean, salty air, watching the waves roll gently over the turquoise seas and golden sand. This is nature’s decadence. Fraser Island is a guilty pleasure, a place of self-indulgence, where we can embrace a lifestyle that values the outdoors and appreciate the natural wonders of our Australian landscapes. Many places in Australia have lost their natural beauty, their history, their culture, as our greed for more takes away from the land in which we live. Fraser Island remains almost untouched; rich in colour, history and nature.
Photographer: Caitlin Broderick
Double Sided Decadence (Vote for this Artwork)
Second Image of Artwork
Sarah Larsen, 2020
Artist Location: Thangool
Medium: Mixed media with gold leaf and silk and thread on water colour paper
Dimensions: 40 x 40 x 0 cm
Artist Statement:
In this work, I have used the symbolism of a coat to speak about decadence. The outer garment representing the facade of the real person, It is portrayed as all golden and ornate set within the red and blue rivers of life however the edges are frayed and stressed. The work suspended in space reminding us of the fragility of life and to always look into the other side of the story.
Photographer: Sarah Larsen
A Case of Commoner Salt (Vote for this Artwork)
Saren Dobkins, 2020
Artist Location: Tewantin
Medium: Oil on canvas
Dimensions: 100 x 120 x 4 cm
Artist Statement:
This speaks to the growing protests around the world against entrenched power and privilege enjoyed by the few. Paintings hung in hallowed halls are pulled to the ground by a common man who rails against the decadence that excess wealth affords them. Salt, a currency once mined in unbearable conditions has been replaced by moneybags. Equally sordid working conditions exist today, his becoming barefoot shows this poverty. The waving of flags, an impotent symbol of protest won?t change a law, but the turnout of thousands on the street just might, and so he marches. He has toppled a suited man, a symbol of modern excessive consumption. The protesting man moves towards the removing of another figure of power. Based on the portrait of George Washington, “El Presi Dente,” represents the apex of power currently held by a man of questionable integrity. The sold sticker shows he has Sold Out.
Photographer: Saren Dobkins
Rainbow (Vote for this Artwork)
Aaron Chapman, 2019
Artist Location: Southport
Medium: Giclee print
Dimensions: 44 x 112 x 0 cm
Artist Statement:
In ‘Rainbow,’ the artist indulges his own memories of an Australian childhood, evoking the taste of ice-creams on summer holidays and the sound of lorikeets. Ultimately, the diptych mourns the colourful imagination of childhood innocence. ‘Rainbow’ is from Purple is Black Blooming, an ongoing series exploring themes of home, family, memory and grief primarily through the observation of suburban environments.
Photographer: Aaron Chapman
Evanescent (Vote for this Artwork)
Josie Birchall, 2020
Artist Location: Ropeley
Medium: Oil on wood
Dimensions: 92 x 92 x 3 cm
Artist Statement:
There have been no flowers in my garden, not for years. And in these times of drought, water is used sparingly on the veggies. Purchasing a bunch of flowers from the supermarket is an act of pure self-indulgence. It’s not something I do often as I always feel guilty for doing so. It seems such a waste of money considering flowers would not be deemed a ‘necessity’ during a pandemic, and also especially since within days, the flowers wilt, die and are then gone for good. Therefore, to quote female Mexican artist Frida Kahlo (1907 – 1954) – “I paint flowers so they will not die”.
Photographer: Josie Birchall
The Blue Lion Spectacle (Vote for this Artwork)
Anitha Menon, 2020
Artist Location: Rockhampton
Medium: Oil and paper on canvas
Dimensions: 100 x 75 x 3 cm
Artist Statement:
Even the placid complacency of a regional home is not beyond the enchanting avatars of a make-believe world of consumerism. The scramble over some rare Lion King Ooshies like Blue Mufasa and Orange Simba last year had its ripple effect in Queensland too. Today, the market is king and consumer its slave. Too many offers, options and many dreams to sell – these aspects have led to market dominance on daily lives to the extent that consumer entitlement, judgement and wastage have become commonplace and a way of life in societies, big or small.
Decadence is chaos of thoughts and actions in a market-driven world… a state of trance, pleasure and carelessness…. decay starting from the roots…over influence of social media… a lack of care for the environment. It happens gradually… merging the virtual and customised world with the real, for kids and adults alike, and the King watches on.
Photographer: Anitha Menon
Lantana Hills no. 1 (Vote for this Artwork)
Jenny Neubecker, 2020
Artist Location: Waterloo
Medium: Pastel, graphite and collage on canvas
Dimensions: 95 x 62 x 0 cm
Artist Statement:
Queensland’s relentless, hot, dry summers strip the life out of the landscape. Soft pastures and rolling hills wisely surrender to the harsh conditions of summer. For month after month the bleached landscape waits patiently and uncomfortably for that first summer rain.
When it finally comes grasses, that seem to be barely clinging to life, burst vigorously into new growth and the landscape erupts into masses of vivid greens. Soon after, other plant species emerge prolifically to join the grasses and the landscape is brushed with swathes of the rich, decadent purples and mauves of creeping lantana. Every living thing seems to rush frantically to grow, flower and seed then bask in some short-lived decadence knowing, and waiting for, the cycle of dry and wet that will inevitably follow.
Photographer: Jenny Neubecker
A Plastic Sea (Vote for this Artwork)
Lyn Laver-Ahmat, 2020
Artist Location: Slade Point
Medium: Found plastic pieces sourced from the sea
Dimensions: 90 x 120 x 6 cm
Artist Statement:
I created this wall art piece by collecting marine debris and plastics gathered from the Great Barrier Reef, close to where I live. I was amazed at the patina of these pieces of sea-worn coloured plastics and their unusual shapes and profiles.
I have always had a passion and concern for our beautiful environment. I used the theme of Decadence to bring light to the dangers of carelessly discarding these plastic products that find their way into our waterways and destroy our precious sea life. My piece will hopefully inspire the need for everyone to recycle.
Photographer: Lyn Laver-Ahmat
Squander! (Vote for this Artwork)
Gregory Wuth, 2020
Artist Location: Buderim
Medium: Acrylic on board
Dimensions: 40 x 40 x 2.5 cm
Artist Statement:
The replacement of anticipation, striving and achievement with immediacy, instant gratification and wasteful abandonment is indicated by the loss of belonging to a group in the face of acquiring belongings. The disregard for others is evident in the swirling temptations of the new gain, the grabbed power and the chiming clamber of risk as the brief clasp on the replaceable is held in higher esteem than the priceless moments of authenticity and sharing. The text, in Gothic hand, emphasises the fate of self-interest as the yearning figure (near shameless subjectivity) is so engrossed in the darkness of what may be it is unaware of its entombment in the pitiless decadence. The use of metallics, pearl essence and warm enticing hues is attributable to the distraction of bling in an environment that apparently honours celebrity over substance, want over need and individual greed over the common good.
Photographer: Gregory Wuth
Ya grill gleamin’ (Vote for this Artwork)
Second Image of Artwork
Hilary Coulter, 2020
Artist Location: Wandoan
Medium: Cotton, embroidery thread, water colour
Dimensions: 8 x 23 x 15 cm
Artist Statement:
In 2020 decadence is the space and freedom to move. However in the absence of that freedom, decadence is status. Grillz, a lavish form of dental jewellery worn over the teeth, have been a universal symbol of status, wealth and power for thousands of years with the first evidence of grillz dating as early as 2500BC. Since this date grillz have been found in the remains of ancient civilisations from a variety of countries including Egypt, Mexico, the Philippines and Italy. More recently they have been popular in Tajikistan and Uzbekistan, but endorsements from American hip hop and rap artists including Slick Rick and Nelly cemented their place as 21st century status symbols. Symbols of not only wealth but materialistic hedonism, these gleaming grins are literally muzzled by COVID-19 face mask obligations. Next on the consumerist chopping block, face masks are soon to be transformed beyond their humble beginnings.
Photographer: Hilary Coulter
Black Tree Caligraphy II (Vote for this Artwork)
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Rose Rigley, 2020
Artist Location: Whitfield
Medium: Mixed media (monoprint, acrylic paint, hand stitching, machine stitching, glue) on board
Dimensions: 110 x 86 x 5 cm
Artist Statement:
When considering the theme DECADENCE, I couldn’t navigate past the idea of self-indulgence and for me, (like many), that involves the luxury of time. Time allows an artwork to evolve, with no specific purpose other than the sheer joy of conceptualizing, discovering, and finally creating. Such a creation is enabled with methods that are often repetitive and occasionally tedious but permits the artist the luxury of pondering thoughts and long-drawn-out pauses.
In “Black Tree Calligraphy II”, the blackened husks of the tree bodies become memory’s text, creating their own language above the decadent orange and matt black surrounds. By placing the tree ‘words’ over this landscape, I could consider the space in between. It is this place – where shadows form, where silent pauses rest and where memories linger – that I am seeking to understand.
In today’s busy-ness, what an extravagance to be able to do so!
Photographer: Michael Marzik
Liquid Gold (Vote for this Artwork)
Stephanie Allen, 2020
Artist Location: Mia Mia
Medium: Textile
Dimensions: 36.5 x 35 x 0 cm
Artist Statement:
Is there anything quite like the rich, sticky, golden liquid flowing from a fresh honeycomb lifted out of the hive? Dripping with sweetness agonisingly produced by our precious bees. Simply Decadent. Gold is decadent; honey is a natural liquid gold. In our household honey is quite literally ‘Liquid Gold’ – a delicacy and most enjoyable when supplied fresh by a local. I believe Honey will be seen as a most decadent indulgence with the current decline in the bee population if environmental factors and some current farming practices remain without change. This art piece is made as a small textile quilt. The main layer is gold rice paper with a gold tule like fabric layer to replicate the honeycomb. I’ve used a gold spotted organza for the exaggerated size honeycomb shapes. The bees are made from Australian merino wool and a mix of fabrics and fibres with thread painting.
Photographer: Stephanie Allen
ATYB.1 (Vote for this Artwork)
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Petalia Humphreys, 2020
Artist Location: Peregian Beach
Medium: Acrylic on plywood
Dimensions: 60 x 60 x 10 cm
Artist Statement:
The colours of yellow and green were largely associated with the Decadent movement, the artistic and literary movement of the late 19th century. These colours feature in works of the era, including Ramon Casas’ work, whose “Decadent Young Woman (After the Dance)” 1899 holds a copy of “The Yellow Book”, a popular British periodical of the decadent “Yellow Nineties. This use of yellow and green, often partnered with greys or blacks informs my work ATYB.1. Concerned with the architecture of forms upon the painted surface, ATYB.1 is a three-dimensional painting that invites the viewer to actively participate in considering the work from multiple perspectives in the gallery space, in turn revealing visual playful shifts and transmutations.
Photographer: Petalia Humphreys
Inside Tension (Vote for this Artwork)
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Seinileva Huakau, 2020
Artist Location: Mundubbera
Medium: Textile
Dimensions: 84.5 x 63.5 x 1.5 cm
Artist Statement:
Inside Tension represents an intergenerational memory of creating objects and the balance traditional and contemporary weaving in the Pacific diaspora. The piece is woven out of readily accessible bargain shop ribbon, reclaimed plastic buttons and discounted feathers which are the hoarded remnants of her family’s sewing. This necklace can be worn but these usually adorn picture frames of people who have passed; however she framed her work thus acknowledging the art and skill of her predecessors. By doing so she preserves the memory and skill of her teachers as well as acknowledging the land she lives on.
Photographer: Seinileva Huakau
Pandora
Ange Venardos, 2020
Artist Location: Bribie Island
Medium: Watercolour
Dimensions: 110 x 100 x 10 cm
Artist Statement:
Where is the line between luxury and greed?
In Greek Mythology, Pandora let her curiosity get the better of her and opened ‘the box’. Her choice unleashed many evils into our world and triggered complicated problems. My painting tells the story of where Decadence begins – that point where we choose to plunge into an existence beyond what we need to live comfortably day by day.
It is a reminder that everything is linked. Our choices and actions may seem inconsequential, but affect the world in ways we might not even imagine.
Photographer: Ange Venardos
Natural Selection (Vote for this Artwork)
Elizabeth Graetz, 2020
Artist Location: Dalby
Medium: Fabric collage and thread painting
Dimensions: 51 x 61 x 5 cm
Artist Statement:
Decadently attired in his lustrous feathers, the male Satin Bower bird lavishly adorns his bower to attract his fastidious and notoriously exacting mate. His display, lovingly and painstakingly staged, is filled with more and more treasures not normally found in nature.
The decadence of exhibitionism, territorialism and pure ostentation found in nature is mirrored by the ever increasing and encroaching decadence and waste created by humans, often to the detriment of the creatures who share our planet.
Although the bottle-caps, plastic rings, straws, spoons and other thoughtlessly discarded items are treated as the Bower bird’s treasures, they will ultimately bring about his and the planet’s destruction. Natural selection? Or the repercussions of our human decadence?
Photographer: Elizabeth Graetz
Outback, A Sense of Place
Katrina Goldsworthy, 2019
Artist Location: Cornubia
Medium: Watercolour and coloured pencil
Dimensions: 77 x 58 x 5 cm
Artist Statement:
OUTBACK’ A SENSE OF PLACE’ 24/7 – H20 is a Pictorial history of a Sense of Place:
A Cameleer in early 2013 found a Sensor Digital Camera in the mud at a isolated dessert spring way OUTBACK in Central Australia. (The spring is on the flood plain of the Mulligan river which runs down the eastern edge of the Simpson Desert about half way between Mt Isa and Birdsville).
The Cameleer retrieved the camera and removed the disc downloading the images to his laptop.
Who could have believed the wonder that unfolded with the menagerie of wildlife to be found all BOUND by the ‘OUTBACK’ A SENSE OF PLACE.
Please note on each image is the Provenance: you will see the Temperature/date/time in the lower right hand corner of each watercolour sketch which poses the question: Is the water hole ‘Decadence’ or ‘Survival’ or ‘Both’?
Photographer: Katrina Goldsworthy
Life’s Necessities
Second Image of Artwork
Joanne Taylor, 2020
Artist Location: Barcaldine
Medium: Paper pulp, box board, tissue, wax crayon, acrylic, silver leaf
Dimensions: 14 x 10 x 47 cm
Artist Statement:
Toilet paper more than any other commodity sums up for me, what’s important to ordinary people in the modern era. We all need it daily regardless of our socio-economic circumstances and it is available to everyone as required. Yet it is often the most stolen of items during tourist season in outback towns, perhaps because of its relative low value, and the perceived inability to police it’s theft.
The Corona virus crisis of 2020 has brought our first-world priorities into sharp focus in the most extraordinary way. Travel restrictions have curbed the tourist season in the outback – no “grey nomads” in their caravans. This work “Life’s Necessities,” seeks to remind us how lucky we’ve been during an era of prolonged prosperity and relative peace. Sometimes we completely lose sight of things of real necessity, of much more importance to earlier generations during times of privation.
Photographer: Donna merchant
Much to Little, Little to Much (Vote for this Artwork)
Jan Murphy, 2020
Artist Location: Doonan
Medium: Acrylic on Canvas
Dimensions: 60 x 76 x 3 cm
Artist Statement:
Sometimes we take too much and give too little. Sometimes we take too little and give too much. Our needs and desires can conflict with our necessities for existence. A fine balance we live. Decadence is about taking too much, not recognising that we can be happy and fulfilled with just our necessities.
Photographer: Jan Murphy
They ate all the flowers (Vote for this Artwork)
Veronika Zeil, 2020
Artist Location: Rockhampton
Medium: photograph on aluminium
Dimensions: 90 x 90 x 2 cm
Artist Statement:
“They ate all the flowers” hints at longing for beauty and pleasure, but also portrays self-indulgence at the expense of nature.
Red Lips and flowers -age old symbols for beauty and passion are juxtaposed in a collage of neon-coloured papers, hand-painted perfect lips and teeth and filled to the brink with native flora from the Queensland bush. Faceless mouths emphasize insatiable hunger and decadent perfection. We savour short-lived gratification, act on desires and indulge with little empathy for other living beings.
The tragic consequence of such indulgence is that it does not sustain passion, and whole ecosystems are decimated for our short-term gain. Our longing for more each day – how much longer can that be sustained?
We may live in a land of plenty but times of distress over natural disasters such as bushfires, floods or drought, bring home notions of what life looks like in times of shortage.
Photographer: Veronika Zeil
Backyard King With Bling (Vote for this Artwork)
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Rosemary Anderson, 2020
Artist Location: Tannum Sands
Medium: Found Metal, Op Shop Jewellery
Dimensions: 50 x 23 x 50 cm
Artist Statement:
The Brush Turkey who lives in our backyard builds a very impressive nest each year by scraping all our garden mulch. He is very attractive to the ladies but with added “bling” he becomes even more decadent.
Photographer: Rosemary Anderson
Redemption Series – Echidna
Deborah Mostert, 2019
Artist Location: Ipswich
Medium: Oil on canvas
Dimensions: 103 x 76 x 3 cm
Artist Statement:
I picked up this little female echidna after she was hit by a car and took her back to the studio to both mourn her passing and try to redeem her death. I drew and painted her over a day or so before taking her to the Queensland Museum where she will prepared as a study skin for the collection. When there is decadence in our society it seems it is so often at the expense of the natural world.
I have inverted the traditional museum cloche with it’s attendant practices of killing animals for specimens and hinted at the redemptive threads that bind all living creatures.
We no longer shoot animals for our museum collections, but we probably kill many more in wanton carelessness.
Photographer: Deborah Mostert
Nutjobs (Vote for this Artwork)
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Karen Benjamin, 2020
Artist Location: Redland
Medium: Acrylic on gumnuts
Dimensions: 11 x 50 x 28 cm
Artist Statement:
The rate of suicide is higher in regional and remote areas of Queensland. The area that I live in (Metro South) has recorded 443 suicides or suspected suicides for the 2016-2018 period. Forty nine point two percent (49.2%) of these suicides have been people who showed no previous mental health issues (According to the Queensland 2019 Annual Suicide Report).
The gumnut gnomes I have used represent 74 lives lost in a 12 month period who showed no signs of previous mental health issues.
One of the dictionary descriptions describes decadence as a “state of low standards in society, social decay.” Perhaps a kinder society, one that doesn’t have to wear the stigma that is associated with mental illness and more support for regional areas could help save lives.
Photographer: Karen Benjamin
Mad Max Dollhouse (Vote for this Artwork)
Julie Purcell, 2019
Artist Location: Kippa-Ring
Medium: Oil on cupboard doors
Dimensions: 41.5 x 90 x 0.5 cm
Artist Statement:
Visiting our property at Beebo is like stepping into a dystopian future with no mainstream power or utilities. Through the 1980s my Grandfather lived there in an almost pre-modern way. Over the years small improvements were made to create a more comfortable space with a few mod cons. After Grandad’s passing my family inherited the property and cottage and we added more homely touches. Dad installed a hot water system making washing up a lot easier and we now use a gas powered stove and solar powered refrigerator. The cottage provides a man made space of controlled comfort within a beautiful yet impersonal natural bush setting. This ascetic space reminds me that simple developments grant so much convenience and pleasure. Light, refrigeration and clean running water are essential – all else, including the box of home brew depicted, is vanity!
Photographer: Julie Purcell
A decadent moment (Vote for this Artwork)
Sue Shakeshaft, 2020
Artist Location: Logan
Medium: Acrylic on canvas
Dimensions: 30 x 40 x 1.5 cm
Artist Statement:
I chose to create my interpretation of decadence using a combination of colours and energetic explosive mark making, which convey overindulgence and exuberance in an abstract and expressive way. I am influenced by the works of Jackson Pollock and Willem de Kooning. To me the process of flicking and throwing down splatters of thick paint over layers of wet paint created an overwhelming feeling of having a decedent self-indulgent moment.
Photographer: Sue Shakeshaft
Cockatoo Crackle Banquet (Vote for this Artwork)
Louise Dean, 2020
Artist Location: Pentland
Medium: Acrylic on canvas
Dimensions: 30 x 61 x 3.5 cm
Artist Statement:
Nestled within the depths of Queensland’s White Mountains National Park, just a stone’s throw from my back door, nature’s pure essence evokes a cacophony of colour and sound as feasting native birds imbibe in a banquet of wildflowers, flaunted in abundant glory.
Droughts, fires and finally welcome soaking rains combine with nature to create an astounding habitat recovery – grass-tree spears coated in seeds, blossoming banksia, purple heather, golden grevilleas and bright yellow wattle intermingle comfortably together, their myriad colours and textures offset by shades of earth, sky and flowering eucalypts.
And with the wildflowers come the flocks of birds, naturally seizing advantage and the opportunity to partake of a banquet during times of plenty and excess.
Pure simple decadence – especially if you’re a cockatoo and an artist with a paint brush!!
Photographer: Louise Dean
King Of the Toilet Rolls and His Golden Bowl (Vote for this Artwork)
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Kerry Sanders, 2020
Artist Location:
Medium: Ceramic, gold leaf, wood and paper
Dimensions: 50 x 40 x 40 cm
Artist Statement:
I have been inspired by the community response during the COVID-19 Pandemic and used this to guide my work to express ‘Decadence.’ I want to make a statement on the ‘first-world problems,’ that we live with and often refer to in Australia. Specifically, I was amazed at people’s reaction to buying up toilet paper ultimately creating a shortage. Showing the toilet roll as a decadent, but precious household item seems appropriate. The Toilet Roll became so rare and sort after in resent months, it rose to a Regal status. I used Gold Leaf on the crown and ceramic bowl to create a whimsical sculpture relating to community and its obsession with access to toilet paper and the decadent roll it played. Of course, the toilet has often also been referred to as a ‘throne’ and it’s history as a ceramic bowl is well known!
Photographer: Kerry Sanders
Chocolate Cake (Vote for this Artwork)
Alana Read, 2020
Artist Location: Cawarral
Medium: Watercolour on Paper
Dimensions: 23 x 30 x 1 cm
Artist Statement:
Chocolate by nature is decadently rich, sensuous, luxurious and sinful.
Where there is sin, there is guilt and pleasure.
‘Chocolate Cake’ takes us on a journey beginning with a spiral path which leads us downward into the dark, delicious central depths of our wanton being.
Taking a bite means succumbing to our need for satisfaction and rewards us with a state of contented, indulgent bliss.
Experimentation with luscious pearlescent gold and blue metallic watercolour paints to highlight some areas, added an extra sparkle of luxury to this painting.
I took almost as much pleasure in painting this piece as I do eating chocolate cake, which is my personal choice of self-indulgence when life gets too much.
Photographer: Alana Read
Repair Yourself (Vote for this Artwork)
Nadia Vargas, 2020
Artist Location: Sunshine Beach
Medium: Graphite on cotton paper
Dimensions: 35.5 x 30.5 x 0.4 cm
Artist Statement:
In the capitalist world we live in, we grow up influenced by consumerism. We learn to heal the wounds of our soul with material goods, brands and names that seem to enhance us socially. We create a false sense of belonging, of self worth, of status. We become blinded and deafed by it. We struggle to realise that we have to look inside to be able to truly repair ourselves.
Photographer: Nadia Vargas
Paper Sky (Vote for this Artwork)
Andrea Baumert Howard, 2020
Artist Location: Eastern Heights
Medium: Recycled office paper
Dimensions: 70 x 60 x 0.29 cm
Artist Statement:
This year has been difficult, the world feels like it is falling apart. There have been many challenges put before us. Personally, I struggled with anxiety for several months. I had lost my motivation to create.
Small acts of self-love and reflection are a way of finding joy and not be tempted to fall into melancholy.
If you look at it the right way, something as simple and humble as taking the time to watch clouds roll by can be decadent. Finding daily decadence is an exercise in the practice of gratitude that is not only reserved for the elite.
Photographer: Andrea Baumert Howard
Their Excellencies
Rachel South, 2020
Artist Location: Elimbah
Medium: Acrylic on canvas
Dimensions: 101.5 x 101.5 x 35 cm
Artist Statement:
From an early age I had a paintbrush in hand. Ingrained is the urge to take an idea, an image, and make it creatively more, looking deeper to re-purpose beyond its original intentions.
“Their Excellencies” explores the theme of decadence in a way that takes the botanical world and embellishes it to a higher level of beauty and pleasure. A portal of exaggerated reality of nature. To have this composition as a reality itself would be a luxury. It was derived from a searching for wholeness, fullness and abundance. I am greatly influenced by my natural surroundings. The beauty within natural forms. The amazing structures, colours and textures that make up our country. We go about our daily routines, often blind, unless we take pause to notice. I hope this piece can be a historical reflection of the decadent nature we live with, and strive to retain for future generations.
Photographer: Rachel South
fragili vanitatem mortis (Vote for this Artwork)
Cara-Ann Simpson, 2020
Artist Location: Toogoom
Medium: Pigment print on Ilford gold fibre gloss rag
Dimensions: 76 x 76 x 0 cm
Artist Statement:
fragili vanitatem mortis (the fragile vanity of death) is from Furari Flores (Stealing Flowers) – a series of vanitas artworks exploring ephemerality and societal decay.
This series acts as a nexus between commentary on personal challenges and an outward interpretation of global news. They are an ironic reminder of the innate beauty found simultaneously in decadence and decay.
This particular work uses the spectrograph (visual analysis of soundwaves) to simulate vertebrae and nerves – a constant reminder of my degenerative neurological illness that can feel like millipedes running rampant in my nervous system. Just as my body rebels against its own immune defences, the world around us moves in serpentines scurrying to maintain a lifestyle of false riches, rather than acknowledge the trail of destruction from our past actions.
Photographer: Cara-Ann Simpson
Happy New Year (Vote for this Artwork)
Felicia Lloyd, 2020
Artist Location: Gladstone
Medium: Digital print
Dimensions: 84 x 60 x 0 cm
Artist Statement:
Resolutions, reflections, and regrets – deflated gold balloons question the changing notion of excess and luxury. As the world shut down earlier this year, I tried to shut it out. When I came back, the words “I can’t breathe” played over and over. Without filter or warning I saw a young man die in his prison cell, then more die in the street. While people were angry about not having birthday cakes with candles, others were taking their last breath. This work marks a time when celebrations were missed, normal left and breathing became more important than gold. The passing of this time is best marked in slow, measured breaths… in and out… and the notion of second chances becomes the ultimate decadence… time to spare… start over… reconsider. Perhaps the greatest motivator is the realisation of time running out… What if there are no more “second chances?”
Photographer: Felicia Lloyd
Shimmering Gold, 2020 (Vote for this Artwork)
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Paul Perry, 2020
Artist Location: Bargara
Medium: Ceramic and glass tiles on reinforced paper bag
Dimensions: 50 x 34 x 14 cm
Artist Statement:
Who will forget 2020 and the impact of the Corona virus on our lifestyle, especially in Regional Queensland? Further isolated within isolation; only dressing up to put the rubbish bins out, zooming into our smart screens for social relief… when the flaky internet connection allows, peering out our front window and sharing the view. Even our beloved shopping trips restricted and under strict social isolation conditions. Now I understand the goldfish dilemma.
This calls for decadence! A shimmering facade for the isolated goldfish, no matter which angle you take. Glistening, glittering, and even glowing! Makes one feel much better.
But at the core, it’s still just life in a paper bag!
Photographer: Sabrina Lauriston
REAP
View Video Artwork
Donna Davis, 2020
Artist Location: Deebing Heights
Medium: Video
Dimensions: 30 x 54 x 3 cm
Artist Statement:
Decadence is an ephemeral and unsustainable state.
This work explores the fleeting nature of decadence and invites the viewer to consider the natural world not merely for our pleasure, rather as a multitude of interconnected life that supports the health of our planet.
Collections that house human artefacts have their climate conditions monitored and regulated to ensure the longevity and survival of their contents. But what steps are we taking to regulate climate conditions on planet Earth, the living collection that houses all species, including the human?
With carbon stores continuing to fuel our decadent lifestyles, what are we prepared to change to allow our planet to heal? The work reminds us that we reap what we sow, and asks what will we sow for our future…
Photographer: Donna Davis
Decadence 2020: The Hug (Vote for this Artwork)
Lee FullARTon, 2020
Artist Location: Blackstone
Medium: Acrylic inks and ink on Watercolour paper
Dimensions: 12 x 12 x 0 cm
Artist Statement:
For me the perception of Decadence made a significant shift in 2020.
COVID-19 restrictions cut my connections to nature and loved ones.
These aspects of connection that I engaged in freely prior to lockdown moved to the notion of indulgence when given an opportunity to seek nature and be with love ones.
Those moments are small, pure, fragile and golden.
Photographer: Lee FullARTon
A Turning Tide (Vote for this Artwork)
Jennifer Redmond, 2020
Artist Location: Highvale
Medium: Acrylic on Canvas
Dimensions: 61 x 92 x 3.5 cm
Artist Statement:
A Turning Tide – Decadence of Society. The mangroves off Cleveland I use as a metaphor for growth and stability as they will keep growing if there is no change to their environment. However this is in contrast to mankind where life as we know it has possibly gone forever. The excessive indulgence displayed by society has come readily and taken without a thought. Our way of life is on hold but with hope and fortitude we will emerge from the 2020 crises a better and less indulgent society. I have portrayed the mangroves with symbolic flowers floating on a turning tide.
Photographer: Brian Slattery