Descent, 2020

This artwork reminds me of the gullies I played in when I was a child living in the Whipstick Forest, north east of Bendigo. The gullies from the Gold Rush era are deep with sides up to two metres high. After discovering this new playground, I would wander up and down the gullies, looking up at the Iron Bark trees which looked like they were in the air from that height.

This work captures the experience of going deep into the inner world to find out how we really feel and what matters to us. We didn't choose to do this in the pandemic, but disasters have a way of forcing us to descend into the depth of who we are. They force us to face the pain of being mortal and human. And fragile. Our human body is so frail and our nervous systems can only handle so much. When we go into a 'dark night of the soul' eventually we come out anew.

How have you changed since the pandemic? What was your descent like? What did it teach you about yourself? About what is most important to you? What are you planning to do with this knowledge? What do you want to do on your ascent?

Purchased by the Epworth Hospital Public Collection.