Year - 2026 · Size - 83 x 55 x 7 cm / 32¾ x 21¾ x 2¾ in · Medium - Driftwood, sandstone, sheet metal, car panel and chrome bumper bar on composite panel with rusted steel frame      · Weight - 18.5kg

This work is the result of a vision that began nearly twenty years ago on the banks of the Murray River near Mildura. The beauty of the place was sharply contrasted by the obvious abuse it had endured — donut tracks, four wheel drive dugouts and litter everywhere, a dumping ground for lazy locals. But amongst the trash I found treasure — a piece of steel off the bonnet of an old car that looked exactly like a rusty sky, and a strip of chrome bumper that caught the light like a reflection on the river. I took them home, determined like an alchemist to turn lead into gold.

The vision evolved slowly. A strip of sandstone captured the dense golden reeds on the opposite bank. Then it stalled — for nearly twenty years — waiting for the final piece to reveal itself. It finally did when I shaped a pair of pelicans from driftwood — birds that had been present on that same sunrise morning that first inspired the work. The vision was complete.