Artist Statement

Name: Jenny Banks

My work is about disappearing landscape and altered dreams.
Growing up in East Gippsland I spent a lot of time in coastal scrub. Much of this land was destroyed by fire in 2019. I found myself painting from memory and from old black and white photos. When it was possible to return I discovered that the bush I had known all my life was gone. What is regenerating now in its place is very different.

Back then I spent a lot of time trying to find a pathway into and through scrub that was at once alien and familiar. As children we egged each other on. We armed ourselves with camping utensils and canned sardines. Now I was doing it with brushes and oil paints instead of a snake stick! I’m not sure which scares me more.

The floating landscapes are an extension of this anxiety. They are not scenic views. They revoke the sense of ownership that often attends looking at a landscape. From initially looking for pathways into the bush, my exploration is now unanchored, drifting through time and space. My memories of the landscapes of my past have altered forever. I do not know where the landscape is going.