This is an all-consuming title, covering a wide range of work, many of which are direct from the studio. It is work from pre and post COVID travels and encounters.

From India to France, Morocco and Italy. The works also celebrate this remarkable country, from inner Sydney to the Daintree National Park. The paintings are not picture postcards but personal, observations and encounters; some created ‘plein air’ on location.

Arriving in new environments means stepping outside your comfort zone. For a visual artist, that is both challenging and stimulating. The more visually foreign, the more you have to learn new languages to understand it. It’s like seeing for the first time with fresh and untainted eyes. This major exhibition is the sum total of that engagement.

—Bernard Ollis

2023