Pete Hay, The Deep End
It is an act of utter violence; I keep using the word brutalism in regard to them. It is no wonder that the proponents of clearfelling regimes retreat into defences in science because defences in terms of aesthetics are not possible and certainly defences in terms of the desensitisation of human beings and the natural world that clearfelling involves just can’t be sustained.
The clearfell is the most extraordinary assault on Australians’ sensibility. Much has been said in reference to Richard’s work that his paintings remind you of a First World War battlefield, a city that’s been firebombed in the Second World War. I think they are the most extraordinary indictment of our capacity to desensitise ourselves to the marvels beyond compare, skein of quicklife that is the Australian landscape.
It is an act of utter violence; I keep using the word brutalism in regard to them. It is no wonder that the proponents of clearfelling regimes retreat into defences in science because defences in terms of aesthetics are not possible and certainly defences in terms of the desensitisation of human beings and the natural world that clearfelling involves just can’t be sustained.
They are the most extraordinarily devastating landscapes … it must have taken a huge amount out of Richard psychologically to spend the necessary time in in them to compose a creative reponse …
Listen to Pete Hay and Tim Bonyhady talk about Richard Wastell’s work, on the Deep End, here
See Richard’s paintings, at the Dick Bett Gallery
And, on Leatherwood Online
