The days before sending a work away always feel a little bit different. My studio is full of that quiet tension. Loads of bubble wrap, handwritten notes, soft light falling across a painting that’s about to leave the space it was created in.
Living and working in rural South Australia makes moments like this feel even more surreal. The distances are longer and the logistics of getting an artwork safely to Sydney carry their own kind of intensity. But beneath all that, I have a deep sense of gratitude that something created here will hang on the walls of the beautiful Art Leven Gallery and in one of Australia’s leading art prizes.
As I wrap the work, I think of the many hands it will pass through before it’s unwrapped again under bright gallery lights. There’s always a moment of letting go and trusting that it gets to Sydney safely and a sense of excitement that my piece is about to hang among other artists work that I deeply admire.