2024



01.    Boiling Point - Sponsored by Bank of Climate Bastardry

My latest work carrying through from last year. Telling the story from last year’s US Open when temperatures soared to 35 degrees, this mixed with a humidity reading of 70 was dangerous and unbearable for players and yet they were made to play through. Medvedev (world no. 3) gave a grave warning for the future, ‘one players gonna die and then they will see’. The 2023 US Open’s major sponsor was J. P. Morgan Chase - one of the biggest fossil fuel lenders in the world, enabling new and expanding fossil fuel projects.
Acrylic on Canvas

Canvas Size

30 cm x 40 cm

Set of 3



02.    Swimming at the middle dam

Women swimming in the middle dam, Snowy Mountains.
Acrylic on Raw Linen

Canvas Size

61.5 cm x 51 cm


03.    Morning Swimmers

This painting captures a rare moment. Three women swimming in the dam, the water ice cold but refreshing. This was the first painting I did after spending a week at Candlebark, a property in the Snowy Mountains of NSW. This area is full of huge Candlebark trees, ancient granite boulders and pristine bushland so lots of inspiration! One of the things I love painting is water, refections and people enjoying nature so this scene was something special. The quick, loose brushstrokes throughout this work are just part of my joy and enthusiasm to paint this on my return to the studio. I've used a transparent wash underneath as a highlight, building thicker strokes over the top with a limited pallet of around 6 colours.
Acrylic on Linen

Canvas Size

71 cm x 41 cm


04.    Moss Covered Boulders

Moss covered granite boulders (Candlebark, Snowy Mountains).
I sat in this spot for a long time sketching and taking photographs. There was something magical about it, as if I was sitting amongst enormous sleeping creatures.
Acrylic on Art Board

Board Size

70 cm x 60 cm


05.    Golden Gums and Granite

Another magic moment from my time at Candlebark. This is the scene from the homestead as the first rays of gold broke over the ridge. What a way to start a day!
Acrylic on Linen

Canvas Size

111 cm x 91 cm


06.    Take Me to Summer

This is my friend’s daughter Lilah taking a dip while on holiday at Kilcare, NSW. Like all exercise, swimming causes your body to release natural endorphins. This boosts your mood and relieves stress. Some people find the repetitive motions in swimming a great way to relax and clear their head.
Acrylic on Canvas

Canvas Size

40 cm x 60 cm

SOLD


07.    Marrickville Surfers

Walking the dog along the Cooks river in Marrickville. I couldn’t help capturing these two brothers skim boarding through the puddles after heavy rains. Believe it or not, this is the local golf course!

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Finalist

Green Way Art Prize
2024
Acrylic on Canvas

Canvas Size

66 cm x 86.5 cm

SOLD


08.    Tim Johnson

My neighbour at Lennox Street studios - artist Tim Johnson. This painting was started in December and since then I’ve been working on it in-between other works. Tim is pictured sitting in his studio with his eclectic mix of objects and works around him. Tim Johnson has long been one of Australia’s leading contemporary artists. His extraordinarily powerful paintings, often described as ‘floating worlds’ embrace the spiritual iconography of a range of cultures.
Acrylic on Raw Linen

Canvas Size

76 cm x 98 cm

SOLD


09.    Last Dance

“Tape” symbolises an area where the public is not allowed to go—a line that cannot be crossed, a crime scene. The colour yellow with red key line is part of a mapping key used by the NSW Forestry Corporation, which means “operations active.” Both Victoria and WA have banned native forest logging, but NSW’s native forest operations still relentlessly log critical habitat belonging to endangered and critically endangered species like the Koala, Red-Tailed Black Cockatoo, Swift Parrot, and the world’s biggest glider, the Southern Greater Glider. Even though there is huge public support for banning native forest logging and the industry incurs heavy losses each year, the NSW governments of both Labor and Liberal blindly support and subsidise the industry.

These two giant Candlebark trees are from the Snowy Mountains region where logging operations are active. Together, they tower over the surrounding bush as they have done for centuries, their hollows serving as homes to local residents. These ancient trees withstand fires and slow them down, helping the bush to regenerate. I love the way these two trees interact with each other, like dancers in a modern ballet.
Oil on Linen

Canvas Size

61 cm x 96 cm

SOLD


10.    Cow In The Room

In the world today there is 1 cow to every 5 humans, but this is a problem we don’t talk about.

1.47 billion cows do a lot of burping, every 90 seconds in fact! Everyday this creates 150 billion gallons of methane (a powerful greenhouse gas) heating our planet. Another problem is providing feed and grazing land for these furry methane bombs which causes widespread deforestation.

Heres the good news…

Reducing the world’s cattle stocks by eating less beef and dairy would lead to rapid global cooling due to methanes short 10 year lifespan. This is one of the most powerful levers available to slow the climate crisis right now. But as companies look for ever growing profits it’ll be up to us to change our habits and the market.

This painting reveals the human to cow ratio of 1:5. Different nationalities represent the global problem of over consumption of beef and dairy. The atmosphere is overheating with reds of fire and flesh consuming us in our ignorance.
Oil on Canvas

Canvas Size

150 cm x 95 cm


11.    Oh Boy

'Oh boy' reveals the dark side of the dairy industry.

In the world today there is 1 cow to every 5 humans, but this is a problem we don’t talk about.

Male calves, known as 'Bobby' calves, are separated from their mothers and killed within hours of being born. These baby boys are considered by-products of the dairy industry. To maintain milk production, dairy cows are forced to give birth every year, resulting in over 400,000 Bobby calves annually in Australia.

Next time you drink a glass of milk, spare a thought for Bobby and his mum. The blue at the top of the canvas represents our traditional celebration of a new baby boy coming into the world, this soon turns red with blood.

The image of the calling calf is divided in half as his little body is processed. He is milky white, made of his mother's milk.
Ink and Oil on Canvas

Canvas Size

150 cm x 95 cm


12.    We Go Together

This sculpture features stumps arranged in a 4x4 grid like headstones, with two of the headstones adorned with posies of flowers, symbolizing mourning. All but one of the stumps are white, representing the lifeless remnants of trees, while one stump is still alive, with new leaves sprouting from it. This piece is about deforestation and the dire consequences it has on our existence. It underscores the idea that we are all interconnected, and once the forests are gone, we will be too. However, there is some hope represented by the living stump, suggesting that the realisation of our co-dependence may come just in time to save what remains.

It is critically important to voice our strongest objection to the logging of the world’s ancient forests, which is so often driven by governments’ short-term monetary gains with no thought for the future—let’s face it, no thought at all.

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Exhibited at the Articulate Project Space - 2024
Glazed Earthenware

40 cm x 40 cm


13.    Silent Scream

Shows a merging of human feelings and emotions with the destruction of our forests. Pink is a social colour which puts us in a good mood and brings on conversation. The delicate hues frame the scene in a graphic contemporary way giving the tree an iconic status.

This will be part of a series featuring interesting trees with human likeness.
Acrylic and Oil on Canvas

Canvas Size

120 cm x 150 cm


14.    Knitting Nanna, Elizabeth

I first met Elizabeth while searching for a Knitting Nanna who could assist me with a project. After being put in touch with her, I dropped by for a cuppa and was immediately struck by her incredible talent for crochet and knitting. She shared a stunning wall hanging that vividly illustrates the struggle between koalas and the logging of their native forest.

My project involved creating a koala head for an art campaign. In this painting, Elizabeth is sitting under her lamp, patiently working away. You can see that the koala is nearly finished, and the many hours she has spent crafting it have truly paid off.

I'd like to thank Elizabeth and all the Knitting Nanas for their contributions to environmental activism. For so many people -including our politicians - these ladies are a national treasure.

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Finalist

Portia Geach Memorial Award
2024
Acrylic and Oil on Canvas

Canvas Size

120 cm x 150 cm


15.    Urban Ecosystem, Marrickville

The Canary Island Date Palm - This tree show’s some of Marrickville’s many Ibis’s getting ready for the nesting season. Growing out from the middle of this tree is parasitic Moreton Bay Fig which would have come from a bird feeding on some figs then pooping on the tree. If left alone the fig tree will eventually take over killing the palm.

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Tjilbruke – A Kaurna Story
As told by Aunty Margaret Brodie
Tjilbruke was a Kaurna man who belonged to the Emu people, they believed that they don’t kill their
totem or eat it.

One day Tjilbruke and his nephew Kulutuwi were playing around. As they were playing, Kulutuwi
accidently killed an Emu and the tribesmen speared Kulutuwi.

Tjilbruke carried his nephew all along the coast. As he went, he stopped and rested whilst crying fo his nephew and creating natural springs from his tears. The natural springs were warm like tears and
tasted just like tears too.

Tjilbruke carried Kulutuwi to Rapid Bay where he laid him in a cave which became his resting place.
The Kaurna people believe that Tjilbruke then turned into an Ibis bird and now we see him
everywhere.
Acrylic and Oil on Canvas

Canvas Size

61 cm x 76 cm






©Vanessa Wright 2024