This work opens up conversations around the saying ‘’Australia rode on the sheep’s back’’ and references the historic role of the sheep industry in Australia and current sentiment. The first sheep arrived in australia with the First Fleet 1788 and quickly became the first major export industry and a primary source of economic wealth for colonial Australia.
Now, some 200 years on the wool industry is still the backbone of many rural towns, and opinions around the environmental impact, animal welfare issues and industry viability are polarising our communities. In the style of 18th-century European painter Eugene Joseph Verboeckhoven, I have painted a flock of sheep at a drying creek bed, depicting our recent drought in the South West of Western Australia. Contrastingly, the scene is embedded on my daughter's sheepskin baby rug, acknowledging the sustainable natural fibre as a source of warmth & comfort despite the current political discourse.
