Michael Wedd, The Stream Softly Glides, 2021. Sennelier inks on 220gsm arches paper, 70 x 89cm. Courtesy: the artist and Tacit Art, Melbourne.

In this suite of works, Michael Wedd confronts the impulse to stimulate the viewer visually, painted as they were during the Melbourne Lockdowns of 2020 and 2021. Those months in a drawn-out medical quarantine became for Wedd a deepening period of creative contemplation and sustained self-reflection. Turning his back upon -isms and style trends while ignoring obligatory subjects and ‘correct’ political themes, the artist set himself to enticing the inquisitive eye, of stirring the seasoned imagination, of composing afresh.

The works chart a journey into Wedd’s mental health, as well as new evolving techniques. A medium new to Wedd – inks – was chosen over traditional oils and prints, allowing for spontaneous, gestural and tightly controlled brush techniques. The subject matter shifts from abstract and organic to landscape, figurative and conceptual.

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