“This work is a meditation on a memory of my father-in-law that my husband retold to me. His dad asked him (on a long drive up north) to get out of the car and find himself the size of a piece of earth that you can make with your hands, and to examine every tiny little thing in it. This quiet and contemplative act resonates with my husband’s own parenting style and every detail that one focus’s in on as an act of love, when a loved one passes on. Each of the 390 pieces (acts of love) used to create this work (my own emotional landscape) is gifted with love from a shared cutting, a special find from a neighbours garden, many gifts of growth requiring ongoing care, transformed with the alchemy of gifted bits of metal cast to recreate the colour palette of its earthy origins.”

“My mother Jacqueline was a committed Catholic living in Mauritius. In 1990, she gifted me twelve napkins that she had embroidered with flowers for me.

Our relationship was subsequently rocked when I came out as a gay man. It took painful years to find a space, like the mandorla, where our worlds could overlap. Until she died, we manoeuvred tension and topics that remained unspoken as well as renewed joy and laughter.

As a meditation on my mother’s legacy, I embroidered excerpts from her favourite handwritten recipes, on the twelve napkins, with the same brand of DMC embroidery thread that she had used. The napkins are folded like a bishop’s mitre to reference my mother’s former dinner party table settings and the Church.

In the quietude of embroidering, my mother and I host a feast.”

“This painting is about my love for my country, for my Aboriginal family, my ancestors, our traditions & my love for Jesus. It’s been a long road to arrive here. During my younger years I struggled with many things in life. Nothing worked out the way I wanted it to. I had pretty rough times, but I was always humble in my ways. I was an alcoholic, drinking seven days a week, walking around dirty. I felt no one loved me. My love life was very bad. In 2008, I lost my eldest son and became even more sad for myself. I felt like doing something bad to myself. My family was always there for me. I buried my son in Bow River. In 2017 I felt something come over me. I was led to a Bible reading at a Church called assembly of God, where I was reborn again. I gave my heart and life to Jesus Christ forever.”

“As hard working Australians find themselves gripped by an unprecedented housing crisis, this work draws upon the French “Trompe l’Oeil” aesthetic (“deceiving of the eye”) to call out the illusion that is the “Australian dream” of owning a home. Simultaneously, the work’s title implores viewers to remember the simple message of empathy and equality within the following bible passage: 

Mathew 22:37-39: Jesus said unto him, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind. This is the first and great commandment. And the second is like unto it, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself.” 

“I remember visiting the old shearing shed before I was of school age. It was still in use two times a year. It had a patina I could see but could never understand. The sheep skin that hung on the wooden fence outside the shed looked as if it hung silent for the past 15 years. Too afraid to revisit and speak of its original purpose.  

In this short video, a farmer demonstrates his love and connection to his work – his sheep. Both obligated and passionate to care for them, he explains his heritage and calling to the task. However, the inner-drives run deeper than tradition or passion. In this case the farmer’s love that is demonstrated comes from loss.” 

“Pietà was born after a vivid dream of a fragmented artwork pivoting around a central cross. Translating this into a miniature rough, I began to envisage motherhood in light of Christ’s death and resurrection. On a larger art board, new layers emerged, enhanced by collage papers and textured acrylic glazes. The stylised figures embody seen and unseen acts of maternal love. Amidst this kaleidoscopic realm, the cross gleams as a poignant symbol of supreme love, refracting light onto the ever-changing facets of motherhood. Shifting focus to the grander vista, an unexpected portrait of Christ subtly emerged, prompting a profound realisation. Love in deed mirrors the divine love we receive. Within the complexities of maternal love lies a simple focus: We love because He first loved us.” 

Claire Beausein: “As with a moth’s chrysalis, Chalice holds and shrouds the miracle of transformation.” Judges comments: “The shimmering luminous quality of the work had an immediate impact on all three judges. Exquisitely made, Chalice floats off the background, shimmering with golden, dappled light and shadow, inviting us to imagine, to lay aside old ways of being and sources of authority, and to imagine new futures.”

Susan Roux: “Adrift in rivers that divide and bind lands, I chart a home anew. “Judges comments: “The green heart of her work suggests a future filled with life, if we allow ourselves the time to step aside (like Moses to the burning bush) and perceive it.”

Angela Stewart’s work suggests details of a narrative, slippages of a forensic trail that may or may not lead to a portrayal. The Rider is a tribute to her son. Judges comments: “The feeling of grief and loss is palpable, and captures the unstoppability of teh prophetic voice – the Divine voice – arising in unexpected places, disturbing and comforting, undeniable.”

Michael Iwanoff: “A poetic meditation on the transformative seed each of us is able to sow into our awareness, experience and life.” Judges comments: “The sense of movement and transformation acts on microscopic and cosmic levels. The inclusion of symbols of ritual embrace humanity’s commune with the transcendent – be it the Divine Other, or traditions deep and wide – and also draws us forward.”

Kirilee West: “There is an almost palpable sense of fatigue and burnout within hospitals right now that feels arid and unending. I feel it when I walk within these walls. We move together in spaces of care and bear witness to the life and death of those whose care we are entrusted with. We journey together amidst our efforts to find compassion and a  sense of healing. And yet it’s in these small moments that I can see that all along, we were standing together, immersed; covered by rivers in the desert.

Kirilee West is a self-taught artist and has been a Registered Nurse for over 13 years. Working in oil and charcoal, her portraiture and figurative work emphasises connection and emotion, capturing brief but poignant moments in time. She has recently explored the intersection of art and medicine through research and used portraiture to share staff experiences in hospitals. She deeply values art’s ability to convey narrative in a way that moves beyond language and educational barriers.

The draped figure is pierced with 8200 holes, with each hole representing every person who sleeps rough in Australia each night. Mikkelsen said, “this unsettling figure represents the homeless crisis, but the work is also a self-portrait of humility. It asks us to be less judgemental, empasise with others and to love everyone regardless of their situation.”  Judges said the works was beautifully resolved and restrained, relating strongly to the theme of the exhibition as well as being a compelling and well made artwork.

Beric Henderson: “The spirit-like figure of nature – empowered by a heart of fire – delivering the message of the prophet in words embedded subtly in the background. I was surrounded by fire in 2019 in Port Macquarie, and this painting is a plea for man to respect both the earth and one another.” Judges said the combination of simplicity and complexity in the works made it stand out.

The text is an old Polish proverb meaning ‘guest in the house means God in the house.’ Elisa Markes-Young: “It tells us to open our homes to many different people, to tolerate and accept different ways of thinking and acting.” Judges comments: “A celebration of everyday rituals elegantly communicated through this exquisitely crafted work in a familial interpretation of Micah’s imperative.”

Links two infamous homeland security installations in Indonesia and America. “Emerging out of two densely layered fields of subdued colour are two powerful diagonals which anticipate coming together in a yet-to-be imagined future.” Judges comments: “A wonderfully realised work which conveys the failings and contradictions of humanity and its forms of justice.”

Desire Ferreira: “Oremus depicts a young woman engaged in wordless prayers of the heart. Her stance suggests humility in the presence of God, her deep desire to see the world through the eyes of God and for her to act in the world as God would act. Her folded hands symbolise an invitation to pray, as praying for those who God has put into her life is the greatest act of justice, mercy and humility she can show them. I created impasto textures in Oremus using a limited palette composed of different grey tones to represent reverence and compassion, with a touch of red with gold leaf to represent God. Through Oremus, I endeavour to immerse the viewer into a deep encounter with the heart and mind of God.”

Desire Ferreira has studied art at Claremont School of Art under the direction of D’hange Yammanee for the past seven years and completed workshops with local and international artists. She was a finalist in the Cossack Art Award in 2018, and the winner of the Councillor’s Award at the Town of Claremont Art Awards in 2019. Her paintings include dramatic brush strokes, visual textures and limited colour arrangements to elicit emotional responses from viewers. For this painting, she took a journey of deep reflection about her faith in God, deepening her relationship with Him.

The judge’s commented that this is a beautifully crafted piece that takes ordinary found objects and through the artistic process turns them into the sacred. 

The humble materials of glass, beads and thread have been made into something much more significant.  The feminine craft of the work speaks to the human desire to create architectural forms.  The forms are clearly recognizable as ecclesiastical but from a range of different faiths.

The artists take the recognisable ecclesial form of a stained glass window and merge it with a personal journey through medical technology. The images of typically Christian elements of hands, metal protrusions and babies take on a whole new meaning.

It is a personal journey of transition made universal through spiritual architecture turning the visceral, cold and macabre into something that breathes hope. The Christian theological stance that death is not the end of the world is expressed in a surprising way. Iconography is the window to the divine and this window leads to a new and better future.

Brian is an artist who straddles multiple cultures and he integrates the idea of mapping the stars in a traditional way with a modern sextant and a view of an ancient Greek god bearing the weight of the world. A mask from his own culture is juxtaposed with the figure of Atlas anchoring this work in timeless forms. How can we think of a new world when the effects of colonialism are still felt and overlaying original cultures? The artist provides metaphors of how we can see the world.  A Utopian vision that is integrated with traditional islander motifs and elements.

This painting has a contemporary feel in materials linking to popular culture yet depicting a traditional ancient visionary story. The heroic man seems curious about the apocalyptic scene ahead of him yet calmly forges ahead.

The traditional circular shape gives the impression of a lens through which the viewer is looking. As if illustrating a graphic novel the viewer is drawn into a contemporary portrayal of the apocalyptic destruction of the future. The gloss finish brings the environment around it into the picture as if the ‘selfie’ is allowed to be part of the image.

Here is a whole bible, every printed page carefully rolled up and sewn into a basket in a long process of assemblage. The bread basket brings together word and sacrament, relating to the episode when the resurrected Christ walked with the disciples on the road to Emmaus and revealed himself when he broke bread at Supper. The bread basket is a container but an empty vessel, it speaks of absence and presence, and we found that many possible readings and meanings can be drawn from this humble, yet complex object.

A beautifully worked, tactile painting of a landscape – which she described as ‘the burnt terrain of humanity and life’. Attached to the surface of the painting is a brittle white round shape, which makes the absent body of Christ, present through the host.

A daily navigation is a set of 50 prints documenting a drawing process, beginning on Ash Wednesday, and continued every day until Easter Sunday. Libby set up this process in order to understand the journey towards Resurrection. She photographed the changing drawing each day, recording its development, which includes scraping back paint, starting again, taking a new turn and transforming the image. This is a process, a meditation that requires time, observation, thought, and persistence.

Julie Davidson: “A turning point in world history, Jesus resurrection, is the moment for mankind that God’s perfect plan and greatest victory is made manifest. It means we are released forever from the hold and fear of death: O death, where is your victory, O death, where is your sting? The angel’s first words to the women at the tomb, Do not be afraid, are words of solid hope for all who believe in the resurrection.”

Melbourne based artist, predominantly painting large still life and genre paintings. Represented by Linton & Kay Gallery Perth, TVH Gallery Sydney, Flinders Lane Gallery Melbourne. Julie has had 19 solo shows, she has been a finalist in several major awards & her work is represented here and overseas.

This work makes solid “The Contours of Emptiness”, as the artist expresses it. The laminated timber sculpture, carved in the manner of a classical marble bust,
works well as a metaphor for an inner stillness that came over Elijah as he became aware of the silence after the preceding tumult. The work is technically very refined. Soft undulating folds of the cloak close around a clenched hand at the throat and the prophet’s mantle frames a faceless font or vessel into which we can capture and dissolve our thoughts. The single hole in the chest explodes into a multitude at the back, as if the subject is being violently shot through with a revelation. There is an edgy ambiguity here that points to the prophet as a marginalised, subversive truth-teller while being suggestive of the hoody of a teenager. It has a telling presence.

The hand of Man reaching out for the hand of God is a powerful and simple image. The work plays out the symbols of traditional religious iconography – through the positioning of the fingers – in an arresting, confronting manner. This is emphasised by the distorted perspective of the hand and arm. The expressiveness of the hand also acts as a map of a person’s life, marking out the past and suggesting a destiny at the same time.

A single idea based on naming the sound of God, the life force itself, whispered breath after breath, is realised through this four-minute video. A bearded man (Could it be the prophet Elijah perhaps?) is filmed in close up and made exposed and open in this meditative act that taps into the mystical in the best sense. That physical expression of the spiritual is even more pronounced as each exhalation condenses and evaporates on the lens, drawing in the viewer in a way that is unsettling and familiar at the same time.

This solid work depicts Elijah shunning the face of God in his humility amid the broken landscape after the ravages of wind, earthquake fire. Emergent plants in Elijah’s cave symbolise the restorative promise of the future. The picture draws on powerful iconography suggestive of Medieval and Byzantine art, as well as the style of contemporary graffiti.

This solid work depicts Elijah shunning the face of God in his humility amid the broken landscape after the ravages of wind, earthquake fire. Emergent plants in Elijah’s cave symbolise the restorative promise of the future. The picture draws on powerful iconography suggestive of Medieval and Byzantine art, as well as the style of contemporary graffiti.