Jarrad Martyn’s practice uses painting and drawing to explore humanity’s relationship with the natural environment and how different historical events are framed. Using the principles of bricolage, Martyn’s handling of paint is characterised by collapsing the distinctions between figuration and abstraction and adjusting the opacity, texture, and clarity of the paint to evoke the passing of time.

Martyn’s work is held in several public and private collections including the University of Western Australia, Edith Cowan University, Curtin University, City of Perth, City of Joondalup, Shire of Mundaring and St John of God Hospital Art Collection. Martyn has been selected as a finalist in numerous national art awards, most significantly winning the John Stringer Art Prize (2018), the Fifty Squared Art Prize (2021) at the Brunswick Street Gallery and the Mayor’s Award for the Nillumbik Prize for Contemporary Art (2023).

Martyn’s practice also extends into the public sphere, being commissioned for a number of large-scale council and commercial murals. His work can be seen in the Shire of Collie, City of Fremantle, City of Swan (WA), the Shire of Rochester (VIC), and the Newman Hotel in the Pilbara (WA), among others.