Suck_It_Up; bodies of work from the Darling Barka

'Suck_It_Up' began after a kayaking trip on the flooded Darling Baaka River at Wilcannia in 2022. The Eucalyptus camaldulensis—river gums—seemed to draw the last of her strength, pulling water from her body before their roots were left exposed on the drying riverbed and floodplains. The use of fluorescent yellow evokes the impact of government policies that shape vast agricultural landscapes—policies that treat her waters as commodities, detached from the landforms and ecologies she has sustained for millennia. I completed this work four years later, after returning to the same stretch of river which was noticeably diminished and silent. The Darling Baaka is a living being—she breathes, nourishes, remembers—and she must be recognised legally as such. Acknowledging the Paakandji as the Traditional Owners of Western NSW.

The work 'Stepping into the Belly of the River' is part of a series of work created from drawing trips to the Darling River NSW. Receeding water deposits delicate silt terraces on the riverbanks, like shallow steps from a stepwell. Gouche and acrylic on board. The work was shown at the Woolloongabba Art Gallery Xmas show in 2025.

2 more series of works on paper include drawing while kayaking on the river and the Bourke jetty series of Drawings drawn in situ under the jetty in 2024-5.