Curator Statement

The reason I love it is when I first came to Sydney in the 80's with my family, there were Ken Done's everywhere, and I especially remember works about hot days at the beach. I feel like this is a progression from those early works, it's become more abstract. This particular work is big, it's very positive in it's colours. It's so hot that it's almost orange, with a shimmering heat that is so Australian. As a Brit, sometimes the heat in Australia is so overpowering, it's that bleeding hot that there's an element of danger to it, but despite that, I love it - I love the warmth of the water and the smell of seaweed and hot rocks. I go swimming almost every day, and it's so nice that even in the winter here, the water is still about 17 degrees. In Padstow in the winter I have to wear a neoprene hat and boots!

This is hanging in the restaurant in Mollymook - I love choosing art for restaurants and think this one works really well. There's so much colour in this, and in all of Ken's work, which I suppose reflects Australia - there's just so much colour here.