ANTITHESIS
Antithesis was created in the brief period between my 2022 solo exhibition at West End Art Space in Melbourne and a group exhibition at The Arx in London.
Like many events during that time, my solo exhibition had been postponed repeatedly due to Melbourne's covid lockdowns. When it finally opened, it felt like a long awaited celebration and a moment of immense relief after years of uncertainty.
At the same time, my grandfather was in the final days of his life and passed away the day after the exhibition closed.
This painting had already been committed to the upcoming London exhibition, yet as my family moved through the grieving process, the time available to create it became shorter and shorter. In the end, the work was completed in just nineteen days - a pace that was entirely unlike my usual process, where a painting of this scale would often take several months to complete.
Looking back, Antithesis feels inseparable from the emotional landscape of that period. It was created between celebration and loss, achievement and grief, endings and beginnings. The title reflects those opposing forces, all of which found their way into the work.
A tremendous amount of love, gratitude and heartbreak were carried through the creation of this painting. More than anything, it stands as a reflection of a moment in my life where seemingly opposite experiences existed side by side.
