MINE 2019 acrylic, pencil on linen board 160 x 30 cm, 4 panels
Possession is nine tenths of the law. What’s mine is yours unless it’s all MINE, MINE, MINE. Mines are primary industry, wars are fought over what is mine and what’s in mines, mines are used in wars.
The four-letter word painted here has multiple meanings, referring to greed, possession, explosive devices and to the mining industry, including the topical Adani coal main and the likes Clive Palmer and Gina Rinehart.
There has been a big mine front and centre through a recent election campaign, a big, big mine. Mines are claimed to be central to our economic ‘miracle’ and have been central to the economy and dominant nation building stories since colonisation. To me, MINE stands for all the greed and selfishness in politics and business and what it can do to devastate and irreversibly shape our country and the environment.
Within my broader practice this work is a continuation of paintings of vulgar Australian language and four-letter swear words, here I enjoy that MINE is treated similarly to paintings such as FUCK and SHIT, that have been part of my practice going back thirty years.
