This part of the East MacDonnell Ranges feels eerily bleak. All around me the hills and valleys were bursting with grass following recent rainfall, but these slopes stood charred and barren in the Central Australian glare. The devastating effects of the proliferation of Buffel grass, an introduced species, that burns hotter than the indigenous grasses, has left this mountainside devastated, possibly beyond renewal.

Painted en plein air, while on a residency in April 2024, the brush marks in this work are energetic and immediate. The colours suggest the heat and brilliant light that characterises the arid desert of Central Australia.

Diptych, each panel measures 40 x 40 cm.