A word from Tim.

2020 began with three major projects in view.

A large show of new paintings at Martin Browne Contemporary in Sydney, a printmaking residency at the Australian Print Workshop in Melbourne, leading to an exhibition of prints, and a further residency at the Nolan Trust studio in the UK, where I anticipated making a series of spray paintings, in part inspired by Sidney Nolan’s late spray works, but evolving directly out of the Dice Abstracts prints and videos I made and showed in 2019 at Tolarno Galleries in Melbourne. A related project involving Ikon Gallery, Birmingham’s Canal boat project was also under discussion.

Then Covid struck, and of the three projects, only the first has been completed – 16 new paintings made mainly in my Sydney studio, which were a return to the Dutch still-life themes I’d explored in the 1990’s. These new works, while similar, were more detailed (a result of access to high-res images of the Old Master originals), and hade more emphasis on the small insects that generally inhabit the floral bouquets. The moral symbolism of the original paintings, intended as reminders of our mortality and the impermanence of beauty and the natural world, seemed very appropriate in this new climate of devastating bushfires and the pandemic.

The print project is advancing slowly, while we wait for Melbourne lockdown measures to ease. At this stage I’ve prepared preliminary drawings, from which etching plates will be made and test proofs can be pulled. Hopefully by the end of 2020 I’ll be able to travel to Melbourne and embark on the actual prints themselves – a series of 20 editions that are intended for a group exhibition at the National Gallery of Victoria (date not yet determined).

The Nolan residency has been postponed indefinitely, awaiting easing of travel restrictions