My work relates to landscape, not in the usual sense of copying nature, but the landscape our society creates. Compositions are derived from structures, surfaces and textures left in the ever-changing wake of continuous progression and replacement. Memories too play a large part, as I attempt to evoke a sense of place in almost all of my imagery. The subject for work ranges from redundant mining areas, such as the old shale mine at Glenn Davis in the Capertee Valley, or the gold fields of Hill End, to the weathered terrace houses in the inner Sydney suburbs such as Balmain, with their layers of over-painting that suggest a nostalgia for a time gone, but not forgotten.

My fascination with mine-sites started at an early age. As a child I lived for five years at Glen Davis. This experience left me with a sense of wonderment and awe at the magnificence and majesty of the shale oil mine and refinery, which dominated the vista at Glen Davis. During this time, I also travelled with my father and his mates, to various towns and mine-sites within the region, whilst they hunted and trapped Rabbits (Our diet, for much of the time that I lived at Glen Davis, consisted, more often than not, of rabbit, mushrooms, and bread and dripping, with the occasional piece of fruit, procured by devious means, from the local orchard).

Many of the places we visited on these excursions, such as, Sofala, Hill End and Kandos, also left me with indelible memories. I have re-visited these areas on many occasions since leaving Glen Davis, and am always amazed at the way, memories of recent sojourns to these sites, permute with childhood memories once I’m back home, working in the familiar territory of my studio. And despite my intentions to the contrary, much of the resulting imagery is often resolved only through a combination of elements relating to both the past and the present.

Whilst my fascination with mine-sites stems from my childhood days, as an artist, I feel that there is more to my connection with this subject. There always seems to be more than just the visual happening. Something more elusive, something “beyond”, that I am driven to interpret.

Garry Foye, 2008