Jon Hemming

I have always been interested in the idea of contrast.

More recently the type of contrasts that confront me have changed following a move from living an urban life in the centre of Hobart, to the beach.

A trip to south east Western Australia two years ago cemented a significant shift in the style of visual imagery I use. The coastline east of Esperance is truly remote. Long empty beaches of pure white sand combine with granite outcrops to offer mile after mile of visual delight. The archipelago of the Recherche left a lasting impression on me - hence the piece Archipelago 1.

This experience and the many walks around my now local area have combined to produce the coastal reference and metaphor present in the pieces Tiger Head 1 and 2.

In Saltwater Dreaming I have picked up washed coal and convict brick remnants from the sea, combining them with Tasmanian myrtle. These pieces were in the process of returning to or shifting their location and purpose. So like all life on this planet they are in a constant state of flux and could be said to be endangered.

The dilemma for me at present is as an object maker, what right do I have to intercede in the process in the name of 'art'?

As I am struggling to write this I have paused to watch the news on the television.

The police are trying to catch the people responsible for skewering a brush tail possum with a bow and arrows at a recreational area near Hobart.