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Silence of the Land is a finalist in the Central Belonging Art award at Cowra Regional Gallery. Big piece with handcrafted hardwood frame by Darrell Armour from Boorowa.
This work emerged from time spent observing the quiet rhythms of the land around Boorowa—spaces that feel still at first glance, yet are shaped daily by human presence. I was drawn to the repetition of ordinary tasks, the kind that rarely announce themselves as important, yet underpin the continuity of rural life. The landscape holds these actions without commentary. It neither elevates nor diminishes them. It simply absorbs them.
The figure in this painting is not intended as a portrait, but as a motif—something both present and almost disappearing into the wider field. She stands within the land rather than apart from it. Her task is familiar, rhythmic, and ongoing. There is no audience, no moment of recognition, and no clear beginning or end. This quiet persistence is what interested me most: the way care and labour are folded into place over time, becoming inseparable from it.
Silence of the Land marks the beginning of a new body of work exploring the quiet, enduring relationship between Australian women and the land—where care, labour, and presence are absorbed into place over time. This series will unfold across the coming months, each work building on this shared, often unspoken experience of rural life.
A small number of works from this series will be released privately. Silence of the Land is the first available. Early acquisition access is being offered before the series is presented more broadly. If you feel drawn to the work, you’re invited to enquire directly or view the piece online.
This work sits at the beginning of something I will be developing deeply.
