Peta West 'Halcyon Days'

"We are surrounded by water and the life it supports. A kingfisher looks out of the composition, guiding our eye across a scene of abundance. Water lotuses, kapok flowers in bloom and rambling banksias. A flock of black cockatoos takes flight across towering rock faces into a vast sky.

"Halcyon Song (2024) captures West’s experience of the Nitmiluk National Park, and her 63 km trek across Jatbula Trail through Jawoyn Country.

"The work’s title Halcyon has dual meanings. It is used to describe kingfishers but also an idyllic time passed. This is an insightful entry into West’s work.

"Rather than being exact reproductions of landscapes, West’s prints are assembled like collages. Layered upon one another, each visual motif is pieced together to create the overall composition. The resulting works are symbolic constellations and impressions that primarily seek to capture a feeling of belonging to country.

"West leans into an idea of nature that feels magical and wrapped in nostalgia. Life explodes before our eyes yet we are not voyeurs, our gaze is always met by another connecting us to the scene. In typical West fashion, our interconnectedness to the natural world is emphasised.

"Perhaps then, these landscapes do not reside entirely in our imaginations, we simply need to open our eyes to them."

– Peta West, 2024