This painting goes back to a 2018 stop at Lake Ballard under the high noon sun, with Antony Gormley’s installation etched firmly into my memory. It was honestly one of the messiest places I’ve ever been - thick mud caked onto our shoes, easily two inches deep, clinging with every step as we explored. That physical experience really stayed with me.

When painting, I leaned into layered drips, scrapes, and luminous pinks and ochres to capture that feeling. The salt lake becomes both a place and a metaphor - harsh, shifting, and alive, while a solitary Gormley-inspired figure stands a quiet witness.

For me, it captures the spirit of the Outback - expansive and resilient, where isolation coexists with connection, and where diversity is embedded not just in people, but in the land itself. The Outback isn’t one thing, it’s a convergence of histories, cultures, and ecologies.