PIPPIN DRYSDALE

from L&K - MUCH IN COMMON: NOTHING ALIKE

JEFFERY MINCHAM AM

The grandeur of remote Western Australia has been a source of inspiration to Pippin Drysdale for decades. In recent work, she explains that her attention has shifted ‘from the vastness of land, water and sky to the subtleties of nature’s small and wonderful details’.

In 2023, for the first time, Drysdale entered and was selected as a Finalist in the Wynne Prize at the Art Gallery of New South Wales, in the category of figurative sculpture. She describes this as ‘a miracle!’ after Covid restrictions and suffering a heart attack in early 2022. ‘Wolfe Creek Crater Installation BKA IV’, on exhibition in Sydney, shines a light on her deep attachment to remote Australia and her concern to preserve precious places under threat of climate change or exploitation.

‘Working collaboratively with my dear friend and thrower, Warrick Palmateer, I turned to my memories of Wolfe Creek. The crater reflects 120,000 years of geological history, from the moment of meteorite impact. Within the crater are little creatures, insects and birds, like the Brown Ringtail Dragons, whose colours can range from orange to pale beige with yellow on the underbelly, and butterflies such as the Glasswing or Spotted Dusky Blue, with their fluttering, glistening wings. The elusive Major Mitchell cockatoos are residents of the crater and are a stunning sight in flight against a backdrop of red rocks and blue skies. All in all, it is a raw and rugged environment, just as it should be.’

Rosy-fingered dawn installation BKA IV

Dimensions variable 21h-10h cm

Glen Helen GorgeMcDonell Ranges

BKA IV 29x19cm

Ruby salt bush installation

BKA IV

Dimensions variable 11.5h-8h cm