In the busy city streets of today's world, we get only glimpses of nature: walks along the water, tree-lined streets, urban parks. We seek the oxygen of plants and the sound of water. Surrounded by concrete, fumes, the vibrations of traffic, and piles of rubbish, we humans have moved so far from our ancient environments.

Metropolis Oasis is the escape from the city streets into a world made of smaller worlds. Small vignettes take the audience to different scenes around Australia and Asia: the floodplains of western New South Wales, the natural pools of Kakadu, the gardens in the hills of Hong Kong Island, among others.

This body of work was created in hotel rooms in the bustling megacities of Seoul, Hong Kong, Tainan, and Taipei. The small hotel spaces, nestled amongst other tall buildings, contrasted heavily with the visual landscapes I had in my mind - hence I was determined to give each work the sense of pure escape that is so necessary for people who live in big cities.

To stand in front of a Metropolis Oasis vignette is to be immersed, if momentarily, in a whisper of nature from elsewhere.

Do dichotomies exist? Perhaps what we see as black and white is a plethora of shades that are neither. Is ice always white? Is white always clean? Is black truly the absence of colour? If it the absence of colour, is it also the absence of heat?

Good vs Bad

Night vs Day

Light vs Dark

Hot vs Cold

Nature vs Technology

Black lily

White incense

Come and see if the things that seem starkly different truly are.

Escape the city streets into a world of momentary windows into nature: the senses are given a rest from the stimuli of the outside world with an immersion into different vignettes of the natural world. Come and see, breathe, and immerse yourself in the nature of Australasia.