Christopher Zanko, Border Stops, 2025, acrylic on carved board, 150 x 180 cm. Photography by Jessica Maurer.

Christopher Zanko is an artist based in the Illawarra/Dharawal region of the New South Wales south coast. Taking great inspiration from the architecture, culture and history of his hometown and influenced heavily by Japanese woodblock carving and wood-relief printing, Zanko has configured a practice using these principles, but has importantly brought it to life through his own lens and lived experience.

About this series Zanko states: “I started making this body of work during the time my parents were selling my grandparents’ old house in the Yarra Valley, east of Melbourne. This place was a constant throughout my life: school holidays spent exploring, and as I grew older, a sanctuary to escape to and reset… By carving these scenes into permanency, I create space to unpack and reflect on the memory of place, symbolising change through depictions of spring and autumn gardens, as well as the surrounding bush landscape. The process allows me to hold onto the ephemeral and transform the fleeting moments and feelings into something tactile, enduring.”

Opening event: Thursday 13 March, 6-8pm