Slag Heap – 2023

Oil on canvas, collage and mixed media. H50 x W40.5 cm

This work is loosely inspired by the slag heap which is in the centre of Broken Hill and divides the town in two. Not unusual for communities desperate for acknowledgement, it has been declared a National Monument.

I have abstracted the ‘heap’ – a debris mound ‘to form a triangular-painted pyramid and have situated a photograph of an early drawing of mine at its upper centre – perhaps reminiscent of a Pharaonic burial chamber. Additionally, a cut-out photograph of an old BHP mining railway rolling stock wagon, also taken in Broken Hill, is at the centre bottom. It is stabilized below with a recycled upholstery hessian strap. The fabric or upholstery of our culture (in turn) supports the architectonic triangular structure.