I’m a Pro Hart Outback Art Prize 2026 finalist!
Gormley Salt Sentinel
I'm incredibly excited (and still a little in disbelief), to share that I've been selected as a finalist in the Pro Hart Outback Art Prize 2026.
To have my work chosen for this exhibition is such an honour, and I'm so grateful to the organisers for selecting my painting. Knowing that one of my original works will be on display in the gallery alongside so many talented artists feels like a real milestone.
The selected work, Gormley Salt Sentinel, was inspired by one of the most memorable places I've ever visited, Lake Ballard in remote Western Australia. Standing silently across the vast salt landscape are Antony Gormley's extraordinary sculptures, their weathered forms rising from the horizon. The contrast between the sculptures and the endless expanse, the shifting light, and the feeling of complete isolation stayed with me long after I left.
Like so much of my work, this painting isn't a literal representation of the landscape. It's about memory and emotion as much as place. I built the painting through layers of texture, allowing the process to become a little messy and muddy, much like the memories themselves. Rather than trying to recreate exactly what I saw, I wanted to capture the feeling of standing in that remarkable landscape, where silence stretches for kilometres, and subtle shifts in colour or light feels significant.
I'm incredibly grateful to the organisers for this opportunity, and I can't wait to see the exhibition come together. Congratulations to all of the other finalists. I'm looking forward to seeing everyone's work in person.
And perhaps the best part? It looks like I'll finally have the perfect excuse to head back out on an outback road trip after far too long. I'll be making the journey for the opening, and I honestly can't think of a better reason to finally load the iKamper onto the Pajero and head towards the red dirt again. It's still carrying a layer of outback dust from our big lap of Australia in 2018. I can't wait.
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Pro Hart Outback Art Prize
Broken Hill City Art Gallery
404/408 Argent St, Broken Hill NSW 2880
Open to the Public: 31 July - 25 October 2026
https://www.bhartgallery.com.au/Whats-On/Pro-Hart-Outback-Art-Prize
