​This project investigates the landscape of the Tasmanian hydro-electric scheme.
 

A fascination with the aesthetics of the industrial sublime developed during a series of photographic field trips to investigate hydro-electric power stations in remote central Tasmania.
 

I find myself inexplicably drawn to the omnipresent industrialness of the land with its endless rows of gargantuan transmission pylons and rhythmical looping power lines, provoking a mesmerising effect as they literally stretch from one distant horizon to the next. The inferred danger is tangible as the immense power and speed of  harnessed energy zaps through the high voltage cables. Sublime and dynamic, yet  loaded with meaning and political intent, they sit uneasily as both monument and metaphor, symbolising human's attempts to conquer nature.
 

My feelings towards an environment dominated by transmission pylons is one of ambivelance. I respond to them aesthetically yet am somewhat appalled by them, due to their intrusion into the land and impact on the environment. This project has interrogated these tensions.
 

There will always be conflict between the protectors of the environment and pro-developers, whether it is the battle over massive hydro-electric projects or loss of native forests.  I see these battles escalating globally as ever-increasing swathes of natural enviroment are exploited to satisfy our increasingly unsustainable energy demands.
 

Strategies employed for this project involved the energetic process of construction, deconstruction, and finally re-construction to build up surfaces, layering and meaning.  This included the application of multiple layers of oil and mixed media, which, when dry was gouged and scraped off, then reapplied. The technique of layering and scraping is intended to represent the scarification of the land.
 

The visual representation of these painted images creates an awareness of the  contested land of the industrial sublime.