‘Power, Corruption, and Lies’

160 x 120cm
Oil on Canvas
2025

This painting depicts a climber on Power, Corruption and Lies, a traditional climbing route at Mount Arapiles (Dyuritte), Victoria. The work captures the intensity and vulnerability of the climber’s position, dwarfed by the rock, caught in a moment of focus and fear, trusting the protection they’ve placed into the rock.
The work explores the warm orange tones and layered textures of the ancient sandstone, abstracting them into rhythmic shapes and blocks of colour. These patterns resonate with the tactile experience of climbing, and the way the eye and body read and respond the rock’s surface to find a route up the rock face.
The composition integrates the climber to the wall, absorbed into its features and colours. The work reflects on the intimacy between body and rock, and the emotional process of climbing, control balanced by risk and exposure.