august, 2020
17aug(aug 17)9:00 am14sep(sep 14)5:00 pm
Event Details
Place your vote to help your favourite Queensland Regional Art Awards 2020 entry win a People’s Choice Award. Selected artists will also be in the running to be included in the Decadence touring exhibition, touring across Queensland 2020 – 2022.
People’s Choice Award Prizes
Adults: $1,250 cash, non acquisitive, thanks to TAFE Queensland
Youth (aged 17 – 25 years): $750, cash, non acquisitive, thanks to TAFE Queensland
Voting Process
You may vote once for an Adult Category artwork, and once for a Youth Category artwork.
- Click on the individual images below to view an artwork, read the artist statement, and reveal their voting link.
- To vote you must fill out the form and provide your real name and email address for confirmation.
- A confirmation email will be sent to your nominated email address to confirm your vote. You will need to click ‘confirm vote’ to validate and confirm your submission. If you do not confirm your vote through this email your vote will not be valid.
In 2020 the Queensland Regional Art Awards (QRAA) celebrates 10 years, a decade of rewarding and celebrating Queensland regional arts and the wealth of creativity and imagination thriving in the regions.
The QRAA is an annual visual arts prize and exhibition for established and emerging artists living in regional and remote Queensland. The program aims to provide a platform for further professional development. The Queensland Regional Art Awards is open to all Queensland artists living outside of the Brisbane City Council area.
Theme: Decadence
Decadence may invite notions of luxury and self-indulgence. It may evoke ideas of wanton excess or wastefulness, perhaps with a casual or deliberate disregard of consequence. Dependent on circumstance, personal definitions of decadence can shift quite suddenly.
Artists are encouraged to explore the complex notion of decadence within their own communities and households across Queensland – both in times of shortage, and in times of plenty.
Adult Category – Click on individual images to view and vote
Postcode (study three) (Vote for this Artwork)
Barbara Pierce, 2020
Artist Location: Townsville
Medium: Acrylic and collage on stitched canvas
Dimensions: 21 x 81 x 1 cm
Artist Statement:
Everything originates from – or is contained within – a landscape. Postcodes are used as a unique identifier of place within a given landscape. This doorstep sized work with landscape qualities has been created with colourful areas contained within ‘Postcode’ rectangles on a ‘coal black’ ground. The canvas has been cut and stitched – mended – before painting. Each rectangle contains pieces of photographs: imagery of the environment near where I live.
Building more fossil fuel infrastructure and indulging in the economic benefits whilst ignoring environmental concerns can be viewed as an act of decadence. Mining for coal provides an immediate solution for employment while at the same time poses a very real threat to the environment and global societies in the long term.
In the colourful tropical north we currently have Adani mining the natural habitat not far from our doorstep. It could be said that decadence has a postcode.
Photographer: Barbara Pierce
Black Tree Caligraphy I
Rose Rigley, 2020
Artist Location: Whitfield
Medium: Mixed media (monoprint, ink, ink wash, hand stitching, machine stitching, glue) on board
Dimensions: 105 x 76 x 3 cm
Artist Statement:
When considering the theme DECADENCE, I couldn’t navigate past the idea of self-indulgence and for me, (like many), that involves the luxury of time. Time allows an artwork to evolve, with no specific purpose other than the sheer joy of conceptualizing, discovering, and finally creating. Such a creation is enabled with methods that are often repetitive and occasionally tedious but permits the artist the luxury of pondering thoughts and long-drawn-out pauses.
In “Black Tree Calligraphy I”, the blackened husks of the tree bodies become memory’s text, creating their own language above the printed, drawn and stitched surrounds. By placing the tree ‘words’ over this landscape, I could consider the space in between. It is this place – where shadows form, where silent pauses rest and where memories linger – that I am seeking to understand.
In today’s busy-ness, what an extravagance to be able to do so!
Photographer: Michael Marzik
Grandma’s Gravy Boat (Vote for this Artwork)
Grant Quinn, 2020
Artist Location: Bundamba
Medium: Digital photograph
Dimensions: 30 x 30 x 1 cm
Artist Statement:
What started as a gesture of kindness, a simple gravy boat, handed down to me from my grandmother. Little was I to know, that this simple gravy boat would begin my journey and decadent obsession of becoming a collector. Having lived and worked throughout Regional Qld from Goondiwindi to Blackwater to Ipswich, Grandma’s Gravy boat was always with me. Reminding me of my need to explore thrift stores, op shops, antique stores and more. Searching for that elusive piece that finishes a collection, or starts a new one. Pieces that tell a story. Stories of family, of love, of tragedy, of life, and like the memories I have of my grandmother and her white gravy boat with the navy blue stripe.
Photographer: Grant Quinn
Degeneration of our coffee culture (Vote for this Artwork)
Beatrice Prost, 2020
Artist Location: Tinbeerwah
Medium: Print on canvas
Dimensions: 90 x 60 x 4 cm
Artist Statement:
Where are we going with our degenerated obsession of coffee intake? It is not enough that humans pollute the world with their take away plastic cups. Now comes the era of aluminium capsules.
As I am working toward a large installation made of thousands of recycled aluminium coffee capsules, it amazes me how easy and fast it is to gather them locally. The irresponsible coffee aficionados feel good with the so call excuse that aluminium is cheap and ubiquitous, that it can be remelted ad infinitum and that the capsules can be recycled anyhow. But are they really? Have you ever tried to separate the grind from its capsule? I dare you especially when it is old and moulded. It is a messy, expensive, energy and time consuming business. A simpler way is to stop using them.
Photographer: Beatrice Prost
Shimmering Gold, 2020 (Vote for this Artwork)
Second Image of Artwork
Paul Perry, 2020
Artist Location: Bargara
Medium: Ceramic and glass tiles on reinforced paper bag
Dimensions: 50 x 34 x 14 cm
Artist Statement:
Who will forget 2020 and the impact of the Corona virus on our lifestyle, especially in Regional Queensland? Further isolated within isolation; only dressing up to put the rubbish bins out, zooming into our smart screens for social relief… when the flaky internet connection allows, peering out our front window and sharing the view. Even our beloved shopping trips restricted and under strict social isolation conditions. Now I understand the goldfish dilemma.
This calls for decadence! A shimmering facade for the isolated goldfish, no matter which angle you take. Glistening, glittering, and even glowing! Makes one feel much better.
But at the core, it’s still just life in a paper bag!
Photographer: Sabrina Lauriston
Paradise Lost (Vote for this Artwork)
Amanda Dickson, 2020
Artist Location: Maroochy River
Medium: Oil on canvas
Dimensions: 76 x 101 x 4 cm
Artist Statement:
The word ‘decadence’ probably won’t be associated with 2020; however, having escaped illness, unemployment and homelessness, my family’s life could be considered decadent by those who have been touched by tragedy. The biggest loss we suffered was the cancellation of our annual family holiday camping on Masthead Island. Nothing devastating, but to us this holiday is everything – it binds our souls as a family. Two weeks of snorkelling, living on the beach, in touch with tide and moon cycles. No housework, homework, cars, internet; no care for the world… cancelled due to lockdown. We grieved and felt guilty for grieving as we watched the horror unfold overseas. We understood how lucky we were, which made our grief seem petty. It seemed decadent to mourn our island holiday, making it the perfect subject matter for my work.
Photographer: Amanda Dickson
Seriously-Decadent? (Vote for this Artwork)
Andrew Linklater, 2020
Artist Location: Kewarra Beach
Medium: oil on canvas
Dimensions: 120 x 60 x 6 cm
Artist Statement:
Decadence today seems very often to refer to wonderful visually-appealing, rich food, but it holds an association with an earlier lifestyle in a society steeped in class compared to today. That we can snub our noses at historical times or a child might indicate their displeasure of the past by tipping an ice cream on the head of an important person are in itself acts of decadence.
I have tried to capture this concept in a way which might make the viewer consider how far society has come.
Photographer: Andrew Linklater
Hurry Cup! (Vote for this Artwork)
Second Image of Artwork
Lucie Verhelst, 2020
Artist Location: Yugar
Medium: Textiles, thread, ribbon, beads and glue.
Dimensions: 29 x 17 x 19 cm
Artist Statement:
Coffee culture initially symbolised upper-class luxury, to later inspire the Penny Universities, forerunners of social hubs or cafes we recognise today. Testimony to societal transitions, in this increasingly fast-paced lifestyle, coffee has become a motivator that launches the day, creates time for a breather, a routine, or even a ritualistic addiction mostly recognised in absentia.
Enter the disposable cup, that caters for instant gratification and portable comfort. An appropriate motif for society’s skewed prioritisations, with ethics teetering and environmental concerns piling up. The awareness of its major contribution to landfill is common knowledge, and has converted many conscious drinkers to reusable solutions. However, due to the development of COVID-19 this progress has quickly slipped backwards.
Creature comforts are crucial to maintaining a sense of normality but what is the tipping point between necessity and decadence that costs more than it gives?
Photographer: Jon Linkins
They ate all the flowers (Vote for this Artwork)
Veronika Zeil, 2020
Artist Location: Rockhampton
Medium: photograph on aluminium
Dimensions: 90 x 90 x 2 cm
Artist Statement:
“They ate all the flowers” hints at longing for beauty and pleasure, but also portrays self-indulgence at the expense of nature.
Red Lips and flowers -age old symbols for beauty and passion are juxtaposed in a collage of neon-coloured papers, hand-painted perfect lips and teeth and filled to the brink with native flora from the Queensland bush. Faceless mouths emphasize insatiable hunger and decadent perfection. We savour short-lived gratification, act on desires and indulge with little empathy for other living beings.
The tragic consequence of such indulgence is that it does not sustain passion, and whole ecosystems are decimated for our short-term gain. Our longing for more each day – how much longer can that be sustained?
We may live in a land of plenty but times of distress over natural disasters such as bushfires, floods or drought, bring home notions of what life looks like in times of shortage.
Photographer: Veronika Zeil
straightjacket snakeskin (Vote for this Artwork)
Danish Quapoor, 2020
Artist Location: Townsville
Medium: Acrylic and paint pen on primed, stretched paper
Dimensions: 40.5 x 50.5 x 2 cm
Artist Statement:
straightjacket snakeskin’ references personal and observed experiences to explore the perception of non-heteronormativity as a self-indulgent choice. The subject sheds clothes and skin – his death a punishment for, and presentation of, perceived moral decadence. The inner skeleton sits erect inside of a naked man – a sexualised enactment of ‘coming out’ and shedding the mask of heterosexuality. The skeleton appears willing to kill the man to live deliciously – a parody of the view that queer people may as well be committing violent crimes.
The skeleton’s naked human jacket also references the potency and hypocrisy of ‘The Emperor’s New Clothes.’ The class divides and perils of capitalism highlighted by COVID-19 parallel the fictional emperor buying luxurious clothes at the expense of his people. The work also suggests shedding the hypocrisy of seeing decadence in others’ behaviours and possessions, but not admitting or seeing our own luxuries.
Photographer: Danish Quapoor
Repair Yourself (Vote for this Artwork)
Nadia Vargas, 2020
Artist Location: Sunshine Beach
Medium: Graphite on cotton paper
Dimensions: 35.5 x 30.5 x 0.4 cm
Artist Statement:
In the capitalist world we live in, we grow up influenced by consumerism. We learn to heal the wounds of our soul with material goods, brands and names that seem to enhance us socially. We create a false sense of belonging, of self worth, of status. We become blinded and deafed by it. We struggle to realise that we have to look inside to be able to truly repair ourselves.
Photographer: Nadia Vargas
Spirit Journey (Vote for this Artwork)
Emma Ward, 2020
Artist Location: Gracemere
Medium: Mixed Media on Canvas
Dimensions: 51 x 51 x 4 cm
Artist Statement:
During a heavily emotional time in lock down (Covid 10 March -May 2020) I found myself abandoning my previous painting style in favor of creating abstract landscapes. From feelings of isolation, I became obsessed with the desire to connect with country in a more meaningful way. It was as if the act of painting landscapes was ‘grounding’ me during this anxious time. I began experimenting with crushing my own pigments from local sedimentary rocks, and making paints which I have used in the creation of this work. I have also incorporated walnut oil, gold leaf and salt and created the work in a free form, intuitive fashion. The artwork represents the view I get from the airplane window leaving Central Queensland on a trip to the ‘big smoke’ (Brisbane). It was a view that had been etched in my mind since my last visit to the city in January 2020 visiting the previous year’s Flying Arts exhibition. I found the whole experience inspirational and mentally transformative. Much like my impression of our landscape.
Photographer: Emma Ward
Happy New Year (Vote for this Artwork)
Felicia Lloyd, 2020
Artist Location: Gladstone
Medium: Digital print
Dimensions: 84 x 60 x 0 cm
Artist Statement:
Resolutions, reflections, and regrets – deflated gold balloons question the changing notion of excess and luxury. As the world shut down earlier this year, I tried to shut it out. When I came back, the words “I can’t breathe” played over and over. Without filter or warning I saw a young man die in his prison cell, then more die in the street. While people were angry about not having birthday cakes with candles, others were taking their last breath. This work marks a time when celebrations were missed, normal left and breathing became more important than gold. The passing of this time is best marked in slow, measured breaths… in and out… and the notion of second chances becomes the ultimate decadence… time to spare… start over… reconsider. Perhaps the greatest motivator is the realisation of time running out… What if there are no more “second chances?”
Photographer: Felicia Lloyd
Life’s Necessities
Second Image of Artwork
Joanne Taylor, 2020
Artist Location: Barcaldine
Medium: Paper pulp, box board, tissue, wax crayon, acrylic, silver leaf
Dimensions: 14 x 10 x 47 cm
Artist Statement:
Toilet paper more than any other commodity sums up for me, what’s important to ordinary people in the modern era. We all need it daily regardless of our socio-economic circumstances and it is available to everyone as required. Yet it is often the most stolen of items during tourist season in outback towns, perhaps because of its relative low value, and the perceived inability to police it’s theft.
The Corona virus crisis of 2020 has brought our first-world priorities into sharp focus in the most extraordinary way. Travel restrictions have curbed the tourist season in the outback – no “grey nomads” in their caravans. This work “Life’s Necessities,” seeks to remind us how lucky we’ve been during an era of prolonged prosperity and relative peace. Sometimes we completely lose sight of things of real necessity, of much more importance to earlier generations during times of privation.
Photographer: Donna merchant
Me Time
Emma Thorp, 2020
Artist Location: Hervey Bay
Medium: Coloured Pencil over Acrylic on Paper
Dimensions: 69 x 47 x 0.29 cm
Artist Statement:
I happened upon a moment of awareness when I was being the typical martyr mother, sacrificing my own mental and emotional health to be what I thought was the best Mum I could be. I realised that I was not modelling a healthy balanced life for my children. I realised that making time for myself to feel fulfilled and happy made me a better mother and my children more independent. Here I am reading, surrounded by piles of washing, feeling oh so rebellious and decadent, safe in the knowledge that the washing will wait.
Photographer: Emma Thorp
STILL LIFE #415 (Vote for this Artwork)
Laura Phillips, 2019
Artist Location: Eastern Heights
Medium: Oil on board
Dimensions: 75 x 75 x 3 cm
Artist Statement:
The theme ‘decadence’ set my mind in gear for this year’s QRAA. Though there are still many artists working figuratively, they are pulled between a love of the art of the past such as the Renaissance period and wanting to be relevant in the contemporary scene. In our times some consider Renaissance painting to be old hat but there are those who feel that the art of our period is decadent.
The word decadence essentially means decay. Does the decay occur when there is no reverence for the past and it is not used as a springboard for contemporary painting and geared to excellence. This infers an arrogance which considers that only the painting of the present is real, meaningful and relevant when it negates reference to painting of other eras.
This work alludes to a genre that has now fallen into disfavour – that of still life. In this work, I have sandpapered the original painting back to indicate this attitude and have placed incomplete decorative work in faux and actual gold leaf on top to indicate a reference to decadent workmanship which is inevitable when there is no reverence for the past.
Photographer: Laura Phillips
Decadence and Decay
Tracey Lloyd, 2020
Artist Location: Deception Bay
Medium: Digital Print
Dimensions: 59 x 84 x 1 cm
Artist Statement:
Tracey Lloyd is a digital artist and historic fiction writer living in Deception Bay. Her work is based on manipulation of photographs taken by her, normally during research trips for her historic fiction.
Decadence and Decay explores the meaning of architecture to humanity. Decadence and Decay asks the viewer to consider the relationship between our selves and the buildings that surround us. Through the positioning of a woman in a bridal gown in front of a red brick archway in the grounds of the former 19th Century lunatic asylum at Callan Park, Sydney, the artwork explores how areas formerly known for cruel treatment of vulnerable people are now used for celebrations of humanity, such as weddings.
Photographer: Tracey Lloyd
I seem more aware of subtleties in my space.
Melissa Spratt, 2020
Artist Location: Gold Coast
Medium: Finger-knitted wool on water resistant backing.
Dimensions: 60 x 85 x 1 cm
Artist Statement:
This artwork was created as an expression and explanation of what it is to identify as a Highly Sensitive Person (HSP). In this context, decadence relates to the way in which a HSP manages their external and internal stimuli. Where they are cautious not to over indulge in decadent activities. Due to having a sensitive nervous system, a HSP is aware of subtleties in their surroundings, and is more easily overwhelmed when in a highly stimulating environment. This piece is the beginning of a larger project and speaks to the theme of Decadence in a way that encompasses our growing sensitivities in a world full of overstimulation and change.
Photographer: Melissa Spratt
Sunset Over Purga (Vote for this Artwork)
Grant Quinn, 2020
Artist Location: Bundamba
Medium: Digital photograph
Dimensions: 30 x 30 x 1 cm
Artist Statement:
Louis Armstrong once sang “What A Wonderful World”.
We live in a world full of hope, but over time, society has taken our world for granted. A world of decadent greed, a world that seems to spend to much time pointing the finger of blame, instead of working towards positive solutions. Topics such as climate change, emissions and waste being top on the agenda, but we need to step up, together, and make this world a better place, not just for us now, but for the generations to come. If we all make a change, we can continue to see our world at the end of each day, as it should be, one beautiful sunset after another.
Photographer: Grant Quinn
Eyes Bigger Than The Valley (Vote for this Artwork)
Katie Whyte, 2020
Artist Location: Greenmount
Medium: Acrylic on glass panel
Dimensions: 51 x 76 x 2 cm
Artist Statement:
In times of shortage for some and plenty for others, I feel that there is more than enough material opulence celebrated in our world. Instead, I chose to address decadence as an overindulgence of just one of our senses; vision.
Staying true to my arts practice of exploring how abstract shapes and colour evoke visual memory, I wanted to showcase the visual decadence of walking through the rural valley where I live, during the golden hour of a sunset. When the changing light affects the colours of our surroundings we are submerged in a new world momentarily. These colours prompt a physiological response in us in much the same way as rose tinted glasses. We feel good.
For me, valuing the connection of shared visual experience with others by taking in the splendour of the natural world around us, celebrates a decadence that can be enjoyed by all, regardless of material wealth.
Photographer: Katie Whyte
‘Down Down’: Are Good Things Happening (Vote for this Artwork)
Sandra Ross, 2020
Artist Location: Gympie
Medium: Mixed Media
Dimensions: 83 x 59 x 2 cm
Artist Statement:
Over 25,000 products sit on the shelves of Coles stores every day waiting for us to choose and purchase. This astonishing realisation motivated me to draw attention to the incredible excess and indulgence humans display in something considered a necessity.
Drawing upon reoccurring themes of mountainous forms in my artwork, I have used ink and watercolour on paper to paint an organic form sitting in a nest-like tangle of dead clear-felled forest. One almost lifeless tree clings precariously to the edge as a metaphor for the destruction of our environment in order to satisfy greedy desires.
Upon closer view it becomes surprising to find tiny subtle text following the contours of the organic form. Written are the names of a mere 5% of the products, further emphasising how decadent our options have become in the choices of flavour, type, colour, size and brand.
Are good things happening…
Photographer: Jazmyn Bowman
DISCARDED (Vote for this Artwork)
Geoffrey Head, 2020
Artist Location: Gladstone
Medium: Digital print on aluminium
Dimensions: 34.5 x 120 x 3 cm
Artist Statement:
Today we are duped into thinking that when something fails, we ditch it and get another one.
This artwork draws attention to this extravagant attitude by showing piles of unwanted consumer goods that have been deposited at the local waste centre metal heap.
The hills of discarded goods emerge and grow as we replace rather than repair. Items contributing to the mountain of consumer waste include bicycles, washing machines, wheelbarrows, barbeques and even a wheelchair. While many products seem to be designed with obsolescence in mind and cannot be repaired, there is some consolation in that these now rejected items can be recycled and reborn in another form.
Printed onto recycled aluminium, the images serve as a reminder of our consumer habits.
The enhancement of colour is designed to heighten the idea of extravagance and give an almost frivolous quality to the items we recklessly discard for new ones.
Photographer: Geoffrey Head
Squander! (Vote for this Artwork)
Gregory Wuth, 2020
Artist Location: Buderim
Medium: Acrylic on board
Dimensions: 40 x 40 x 2.5 cm
Artist Statement:
The replacement of anticipation, striving and achievement with immediacy, instant gratification and wasteful abandonment is indicated by the loss of belonging to a group in the face of acquiring belongings. The disregard for others is evident in the swirling temptations of the new gain, the grabbed power and the chiming clamber of risk as the brief clasp on the replaceable is held in higher esteem than the priceless moments of authenticity and sharing. The text, in Gothic hand, emphasises the fate of self-interest as the yearning figure (near shameless subjectivity) is so engrossed in the darkness of what may be it is unaware of its entombment in the pitiless decadence. The use of metallics, pearl essence and warm enticing hues is attributable to the distraction of bling in an environment that apparently honours celebrity over substance, want over need and individual greed over the common good.
Photographer: Gregory Wuth
Two Boys and Two Devils – a traditional Yangkaal story from Forsyth Island (Vote for this Artwork)
John Williams, 2020
Artist Location: Gununa, Mornington Island
Medium: Acrlic on Belgian linen
Dimensions: 102 x 102 x 2 cm
Artist Statement:
This Traditional story tells about how greediness and disrespect always come back to bite you on the bum. This is a cautionary tale and is also one of the important dances and songs of the Lardil people here on Mornington Island.
Two Boys and Two Devils – a traditional Yangkaal story from Forsyth Island
A long time ago on Gurraben Reef off Forsyth Island, two little boys were making a fire with firesticks. Up above, two malgarn (devil-birds) were singing out, “Wii!”
The two boys heard them and mocked them, singing out, “Wii!”
The two malgarn again sang out, “Wii!”
And the two boys again copied them – “Wii!”
Then the malgarn sang out louder, “Wii!”
And the two boys again copied them – “Wii!”
And again, the malgarn sang out even louder, “Wii!”
And again, the two boys copied them, singing out even louder, “Wii!”
The malgarn jumped down and grabbed those two boys and wrapped them up in a net. They dragged the net south onto a sandbank. One malgarn said, “Come over here, let the two boys lay down there in the net. You and I can go to the point and make some firesticks.”They left the boys tied up in the net near the ocean in the south-west and went to the north-east to try and make a fire to cook them.
The malgarn rubbed their firesticks, jila, jila, jila, jila! They started to get fire. They rubbed again, but the fire wouldn’t start. Maltha (nothing). Meanwhile, the two boys were still on the sandbank, struggling to escape from the net.
“Have you got anything like a knife or tomahawk to cut this net?” asked one boy. “No,” replied the other boy, “but look! I’ve got a bottle here beside me!” “Well, that’s alright,” said the first boy, “Go on, cut it with the bottle!” So, he tore and cut at the net until he made his way out.
The first boy was still inside, looking to see how far away the malgarn are. He was worried they would see them escape. The other boy reassured him, “They’re far away, far off to the east.”
“You go out first, then I’ll come out after you.” The first boy came out then and together they rolled down the sandbank. Rolling, rolling, rolling, rolling, right into the saltwater. They swam and they swam, all the way west back to Forsyth Island. The two malgarn were still trying to make fire.
“Right,” said one, “Go and get them now. We’ll eat while it’s still light.” The other malgarn went and looked. He called out “Hey, there’s nothing here! No boys! They’ve gone!” “Get them!” said the first malgarn, “Don’t hide them! I won’t give you any. Get my food!” “They’re not here,” said the other one, “Look, there’s nothing!”
“Get them! Don’t hide that food of mine. I want to eat them. Don’t hide them for no reason!” “They’re not here! You look for them!” The first, malgarn started heading to the north-east, ready for a fight. He picked up the net and looked in every corner. The two boys were really gone.
Of course, the two malgarn blamed each other for losing the boys. And then of course they started fighting. They fought each other all over the place – in the west and north and south and east. While they were fighting shooting stars fell down into the ocean. Well, when they finally had enough of fighting, the two malgarn thought that maybe they should try looking for the boys.
“Come on, you go to the north side and I’ll go to the south side.” While they were looking, they sang a song in Yangkaal. “Danda gurra, danda gurra, danda gurra, danda gurra, danda gurra, danda gurra, danda gurra. Danda warrirr!”
After a while two malgarn still hadn’t found any sign of the two boys. They took off and flew over Robert Island and back to Forsyth Island in search of the boys. They landed on a sandbank at Marragadba, wandered around to the west and did durlda (shit) there. The people saw those malgarn in the west and quickly sent the boys to the east side. But then the malgarn went east too. “Here they are on the east side, wandering around. Hide the children, those boys. Hide them all!”
They did their best to hide the children, but the malgarn must have heard them, because next thing they flew over and landed right there in the middle of the people’s camp. The malgarn asked the people, “Are our good ones here? The ones who ran here a little while ago?” “We don’t have anyone,” the people replied. “Don’t hide them! Don’t hide them! yelled the malgarn. “Get my devil’s children! Get my children!”
The people were worried, so they bring out one little child to offer to the malgarn. “This is the one, right? This one?” “No, that one’s bad, he has a big stomach. That one’s yours, he’s bad.”
They brought out another child. “Is it this one?” “That one’s bad too. He’s bad, with a skinny body.”
They brought out two more children. “How about these two?” “No, those are your bad ones, leave them. Those are bad, they’ve got skinny bodies.”
They brought out two more children. “How about these two?” “No, those are your bad ones, leave them. Those are bad, they’ve got skinny bodies.” The malgarn explained exactly what they were looking for. Eventually the people were forced to bring out the two boys who had escaped from the devils’ net. “How about these two people?”
“Yes, those are ours,” the malgarn said. “Bring them up!” Well, the people weren’t so silly as to give their boys away that easily. “Righto!” said one of the men, “Before you take these boys, go over there and shake-a-leg.” The malgarn started to shake-a-leg, because by now they were ready to do anything to be able to eat those two delicious boys. But the people continued with their plan …
“Go on, put your legs wider apart,” they said. “Open your legs.” The two malgarn opened their legs wider still, and the men all speared them. The malgarn were writhing in pain. And then they flew straight up into the sky with the white spears sticking out behind them. And they kept on going up until they disappeared out of sight.
Photographer: MIART Mornington Island Art
ABUNDANCE
Second Image of Artwork
Christine Holden, 2020
Artist Location: Boyne Island
Medium: Marine Debris and plastics
Dimensions: 10 x 41 x 28 cm
Artist Statement:
I reside on the central east coast of Queensland where seafood is plentiful, but is still regarded as a very decadent food choice which is only available to some. Ordering a seafood platter with oysters, prawns, scallops and crab claws is available in local restaurants, but remains something that many locals only dream about or savour for those special occasions. It is regarded as a decadent choice so it was the first thing I thought of when considering this year’s theme and the region I live in. The use of marine debris such as plastics, netting and fishing line highlights something else that is also sadly in abundance. We are lucky to have fresh wild caught seafood on our doorstep, but how decadent of us to threaten this resource by continuing to produce single use plastics…food for thought.
Photographer: Christine Holden
TWO UP Come in Spinner (Vote for this Artwork)
View Video Artwork
Warren (Buck) Richardson, 2020
Artist Location: Kuranda
Medium: Digital Art Video
Dimensions: Variable
Artist Statement:
Captivated by their beauty, I have photographed a ‘collection’ of over 1500 species of moths, spending countless hours staring at my screen as I magnify and move their patterns and colours around in my digital art. Decadence put me in mind of gamblers who can similarly get hooked by the colours and movement on their pokies screens. But decadence and beauty combine in a paradox – whether it’s roulette wheels or the roll of the dice on casino gaming tables, the colours, sounds and lights are exciting. Betting is part of our culture. Even governments are dependent on the revenue. From the ANZAC tradition of TWO UP Come in Spinner, to the gee-gees at the Melbourne Cup or even the stock market, most Australians have a wager on something. But for some gamblers such mesmerising patterns become a decadent addiction, a vice, leaving the punter in a spin, their money burnt.
Photographer: Warren (Buck) Richardson
Goodness #108
Fiona Quin, 2020
Artist Location: Townsville
Medium: Digital print
Dimensions: 58.9 x 83.6 x 0.5 cm
Artist Statement:
In today’s world we rush from here to there, wanting this and that, and never stopping. We take vitamins, supplements, and pills for that instant relief and quick fix with a casual disregard of the consequences. Our western society has become decadent and self-indulgent in looking after our body, health, and wellbeing.
This artwork, Goodness #108, illustrates how the “health” supplement industry has decayed our understanding of health and goodness through the take-one-a-day pill advice.
By combining digital art, photography, and graphic design techniques, I hope to convey this current state of social decadence through the lens of a magazine cover, itself a decadent medium in its short-term use of natural resources such as paper.
Photographer: Fiona Quin
hoc est pulchritudinem – ac interitus et exitium
Cara-Ann Simpson, 2020
Artist Location: Toogoom
Medium: Pigment print on Ilford gold fibre gloss rag
Dimensions: 76 x 76 x 0 cm
Artist Statement:
hoc est pulchritudinem – ac interitus et exitium (this is the beauty – their destruction and decay) is from Furari Flores (Stealing Flowers) – a series of vanitas artworks exploring ephemerality and societal decay.
This series acts as a nexus between commentary on personal challenges and an outward interpretation of global news. They are an ironic reminder of the innate beauty found simultaneously in decadence and decay.
Photographed on black velvet and digitally arranged to evoke concepts inherent in medieval funerary art, this work describes the inevitable decay of life – a flower decomposing from the moment of separation from its life-giver. The spectrograph (visual analysis of soundwaves) reads the title – a reminder that while there is much beauty in the transient commodities that we immerse ourselves within, they, like life, will pass and may lead to self-destruction and demise.
Photographer: Cara-Ann Simpson
Decadence
Angela Heffer, 2020
Artist Location: Kawana
Medium: Digital illustration
Dimensions: 35 x 35 x 0 cm
Artist Statement:
The first thing I thought about when I read the title ‘Decadence,’ was an overindulgence in fine food. Immediately, I pictured a group of women I had seen enjoying themselves at a local cafe prior to the COVID-19 social restrictions being enforced. I had made a sketch at the time, so with a little imagination I embellished the scene to show two ladies of the ‘Red hat’ society partaking in a high tea.
Older women in rural and regional Australia have collectively experienced a lot of hard times and grief. They have also volunteered many hours helping those less fortunate than themselves. For these reasons, I believe they deserve a little decadence in their lives.
My digital illustration was made by drawing with an Apple Pencil on iPad Pro. I used a 6mm fine black tip then filled in the shapes with solid, decadent colours using the illustrator application.
Photographer: Angela Heffer
High Tea (Vote for this Artwork)
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Barbara Stephenson, 2020
Artist Location: Toowoomba
Medium: Textiles
Dimensions: 25 x 50 x 52 cm
Artist Statement:
Nothing says decadent pleasure and fun quite like the timeless ritual of a high tea. We frock up elegantly and sip champagne. Time stands still and food is elevated to an art form. Centuries ago, the ingredients of tea, coffee, chocolate, sugar and spice brought by explorers and traders from distant exotic lands to pique jaded palates. Sumptuary laws ensured these luxuries remained the decadent pleasure of the rich and influential. Today they have become an addictive everyday pleasure and their increased production is detrimental to the natural habitats of rainforests, reefs.
I have wrapped and twisted strips of discarded blankets and clothing until the soft yielding fabric takes on solid dense forms. Reminiscent perhaps of a childhood dolls’ tea party. Are they food or flowers? Cake or coral? The sugary pastel colour palette is dominated by white, reflecting on the dying beauty of bleaching coral.
Another slice of cake anyone?
Photographer: Allan Lisle
Chocolate Cake (Vote for this Artwork)
Alana Read, 2020
Artist Location: Cawarral
Medium: Watercolour on Paper
Dimensions: 23 x 30 x 1 cm
Artist Statement:
Chocolate by nature is decadently rich, sensuous, luxurious and sinful.
Where there is sin, there is guilt and pleasure.
‘Chocolate Cake’ takes us on a journey beginning with a spiral path which leads us downward into the dark, delicious central depths of our wanton being.
Taking a bite means succumbing to our need for satisfaction and rewards us with a state of contented, indulgent bliss.
Experimentation with luscious pearlescent gold and blue metallic watercolour paints to highlight some areas, added an extra sparkle of luxury to this painting.
I took almost as much pleasure in painting this piece as I do eating chocolate cake, which is my personal choice of self-indulgence when life gets too much.
Photographer: Alana Read
Liquid Gold (Vote for this Artwork)
Stephanie Allen, 2020
Artist Location: Mia Mia
Medium: Textile
Dimensions: 36.5 x 35 x 0 cm
Artist Statement:
Is there anything quite like the rich, sticky, golden liquid flowing from a fresh honeycomb lifted out of the hive? Dripping with sweetness agonisingly produced by our precious bees. Simply Decadent. Gold is decadent; honey is a natural liquid gold. In our household honey is quite literally ‘Liquid Gold’ – a delicacy and most enjoyable when supplied fresh by a local. I believe Honey will be seen as a most decadent indulgence with the current decline in the bee population if environmental factors and some current farming practices remain without change. This art piece is made as a small textile quilt. The main layer is gold rice paper with a gold tule like fabric layer to replicate the honeycomb. I’ve used a gold spotted organza for the exaggerated size honeycomb shapes. The bees are made from Australian merino wool and a mix of fabrics and fibres with thread painting.
Photographer: Stephanie Allen
THE PHOTO SHOOT (Vote for this Artwork)
Janice Ford, 2020
Artist Location: Rockhampton
Medium: Acrylic on Canvas
Dimensions: 76 x 51 x 4 cm
Artist Statement:
Australia has recently suffered from intense bush fires which resulted in many deaths and the devastation of the landscape. Smoke, ash and blackened trees were a common sight.
But some people in the fashion industry could see this as a wonderful backdrop for a fashion shoot.
So they fly in with their glamorous models, exotic animals and haute couture garments.
They stay just long enough to take amazing photos and then they fly out, totally oblivious to all the suffering associated with the fires.
The red dress represents the flames.
The exotic animal is in contrast to the native creatures that died in the fires.
The red and green feathers in the head dress represent the birds that were in the bush and the colour of the leaves before the fires.
Photographer: Simon Cox
Gift (Vote for this Artwork)
Judy Hammond, 2020
Artist Location: Tewantin
Medium: Acrylic and varnish on Gift Bags
Dimensions: 55 x 55 x 5 cm
Artist Statement:
Gift’ highlights the decadence of simply living on Earth, alongside Mundagudda’s (Rainbow Serpent). Her foundations are stepping stones for all living species and fauna to live in balance and harmony together.
This reminder is crucial now given the current world issues, with growing fears of uncertainty around COVID-19 and how this has escalated and shifted world power capabilities, tensions, divisions and alliances in ideologies. Here, risks of international conflict and military attacks are more vulnerable to become realities: South Sea Island disputes, Indian border conflicts and Australia’s increased diplomatic issues with China. Meanwhile, mining has increased substantially in Australia, since COVID-19 Pandemic, labelled by our government as a saviour for a declining economy, disregarding its environmental impact.
The dichotomy here is COVID-19 has also created opportunities for people to stand together about existing dominant ideologies of inequalities and injustices, exemplified by Black Live Matters (BLM).
Photographer: Judy Hammond
Black Tree Caligraphy II (Vote for this Artwork)
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Rose Rigley, 2020
Artist Location: Whitfield
Medium: Mixed media (monoprint, acrylic paint, hand stitching, machine stitching, glue) on board
Dimensions: 110 x 86 x 5 cm
Artist Statement:
When considering the theme DECADENCE, I couldn’t navigate past the idea of self-indulgence and for me, (like many), that involves the luxury of time. Time allows an artwork to evolve, with no specific purpose other than the sheer joy of conceptualizing, discovering, and finally creating. Such a creation is enabled with methods that are often repetitive and occasionally tedious but permits the artist the luxury of pondering thoughts and long-drawn-out pauses.
In “Black Tree Calligraphy II”, the blackened husks of the tree bodies become memory’s text, creating their own language above the decadent orange and matt black surrounds. By placing the tree ‘words’ over this landscape, I could consider the space in between. It is this place – where shadows form, where silent pauses rest and where memories linger – that I am seeking to understand.
In today’s busy-ness, what an extravagance to be able to do so!
Photographer: Michael Marzik
Pandora
Ange Venardos, 2020
Artist Location: Bribie Island
Medium: Watercolour
Dimensions: 110 x 100 x 10 cm
Artist Statement:
Where is the line between luxury and greed?
In Greek Mythology, Pandora let her curiosity get the better of her and opened ‘the box’. Her choice unleashed many evils into our world and triggered complicated problems. My painting tells the story of where Decadence begins – that point where we choose to plunge into an existence beyond what we need to live comfortably day by day.
It is a reminder that everything is linked. Our choices and actions may seem inconsequential, but affect the world in ways we might not even imagine.
Photographer: Ange Venardos
Their Excellencies
Rachel South, 2020
Artist Location: Elimbah
Medium: Acrylic on canvas
Dimensions: 101.5 x 101.5 x 35 cm
Artist Statement:
From an early age I had a paintbrush in hand. Ingrained is the urge to take an idea, an image, and make it creatively more, looking deeper to re-purpose beyond its original intentions.
“Their Excellencies” explores the theme of decadence in a way that takes the botanical world and embellishes it to a higher level of beauty and pleasure. A portal of exaggerated reality of nature. To have this composition as a reality itself would be a luxury. It was derived from a searching for wholeness, fullness and abundance. I am greatly influenced by my natural surroundings. The beauty within natural forms. The amazing structures, colours and textures that make up our country. We go about our daily routines, often blind, unless we take pause to notice. I hope this piece can be a historical reflection of the decadent nature we live with, and strive to retain for future generations.
Photographer: Rachel South
INDULGENCE (Vote for this Artwork)
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Paula Bowie, 2020
Artist Location: Coolum Beach
Medium: Ceramic
Dimensions: 37 x 50 x 40 cm
Artist Statement:
Like a tranquil still life, this installation of ceramics vessels holds space beautifully.
Candle holders,fruit bowl and wine decanter are a reminder of times of decadence and and celebration….sensual and luxurious. Keep looking and you can imagine draping grapes,a splash of red wine, dim candle light and laughter.
These vessels are wheel thrown with white stoneware clay, mid fired , then finished indulgently with a touch of gold.
Photographer: Paula Bowie
The Blue Lion Spectacle (Vote for this Artwork)
Anitha Menon, 2020
Artist Location: Rockhampton
Medium: Oil and paper on canvas
Dimensions: 100 x 75 x 3 cm
Artist Statement:
Even the placid complacency of a regional home is not beyond the enchanting avatars of a make-believe world of consumerism. The scramble over some rare Lion King Ooshies like Blue Mufasa and Orange Simba last year had its ripple effect in Queensland too. Today, the market is king and consumer its slave. Too many offers, options and many dreams to sell – these aspects have led to market dominance on daily lives to the extent that consumer entitlement, judgement and wastage have become commonplace and a way of life in societies, big or small.
Decadence is chaos of thoughts and actions in a market-driven world… a state of trance, pleasure and carelessness…. decay starting from the roots…over influence of social media… a lack of care for the environment. It happens gradually… merging the virtual and customised world with the real, for kids and adults alike, and the King watches on.
Photographer: Anitha Menon
A-tishoo Toilet Tissue Can You Spare A Square (Vote for this Artwork)
Joan Stratton, 2020
Artist Location: Weipa
Medium: Digital Illustration
Dimensions: 120 x 120 x 25 cm
Artist Statement:
Decadence; our over indulgence, our want for everything and anything – a social commentary artwork of a tattooed woman, her hair up in a bun, she is wearing golden toilet paper earrings as she is contemplating her unwise decisions of days past. Not of hoarding or whether she purchased too much toilet paper (stacked in the background), she worries about the rushed home done dragon tattoo on her forearm, was it worth the pain and suffering, will she be able to show it to her friends when she finally sees them? She also has symbolic tattoos on her other arm for protection the Celtic Shield Knot symbol and the words she currently lives by.
Photographer: Joan Stratton
Paper Sky (Vote for this Artwork)
Andrea Baumert Howard, 2020
Artist Location: Eastern Heights
Medium: Recycled office paper
Dimensions: 70 x 60 x 0.29 cm
Artist Statement:
This year has been difficult, the world feels like it is falling apart. There have been many challenges put before us. Personally, I struggled with anxiety for several months. I had lost my motivation to create.
Small acts of self-love and reflection are a way of finding joy and not be tempted to fall into melancholy.
If you look at it the right way, something as simple and humble as taking the time to watch clouds roll by can be decadent. Finding daily decadence is an exercise in the practice of gratitude that is not only reserved for the elite.
Photographer: Andrea Baumert Howard
The Bower Bird Collection (Vote for this Artwork)
Carmen Beezley-Drake, 2020
Artist Location: Rockhampton
Medium: Acrylic, collage and found objects on canvas
Dimensions: 62 x 62 x 5 cm
Artist Statement:
Looking for inspiration outside the human experience to portray the theme Decadence, I felt the Bower bird fitted into this niche. It’s ritual display and excessive arrangement of collected objects during the mating season speaks to me of decadence.
The Bower bird is renowned for his decorated courtship ‘bower,’ an elaborate arrangement of found objects, highly decorated with objects scavenged from near and far. This eclectic display is entirely for the purpose of winning a female’s acceptance, and so these found objects become meaningful to the male Bower bird because of the purpose they serve.
The Spotted Bower bird Chlamydera maculate, collects mostly white, shiny objects. Shells, bones, glass, silver items are found in these elaborate bowers. The female sits waiting to make her judgement on his labour intensive and decadent offering. One could say both the female and the male Bower bird indulge in decadence with their courtship rituals.
Photographer: Carmen Beezley-Drake
Nutjobs (Vote for this Artwork)
Second Image of Artwork
Karen Benjamin, 2020
Artist Location: Redland
Medium: Acrylic on gumnuts
Dimensions: 11 x 50 x 28 cm
Artist Statement:
The rate of suicide is higher in regional and remote areas of Queensland. The area that I live in (Metro South) has recorded 443 suicides or suspected suicides for the 2016-2018 period. Forty nine point two percent (49.2%) of these suicides have been people who showed no previous mental health issues (According to the Queensland 2019 Annual Suicide Report).
The gumnut gnomes I have used represent 74 lives lost in a 12 month period who showed no signs of previous mental health issues.
One of the dictionary descriptions describes decadence as a “state of low standards in society, social decay.” Perhaps a kinder society, one that doesn’t have to wear the stigma that is associated with mental illness and more support for regional areas could help save lives.
Photographer: Karen Benjamin
Indulgence
Libby Derham, 2020
Artist Location: Peregian Springs
Medium: Watercolour on recycled envelopes
Dimensions: 0.12 x 0.47 x 0 cm
Artist Statement:
My current practice focuses on sensory awareness in the landscape and the substrate’s journey from discarded to prominent.
During lock down, I home schooled my two children and also taught my primary and secondary students from home. During this period, I craved alone time for painting and missed plein air outdoors. On daily walks I created ‘walking whilst drawing’ scrolls which would form the basis of paintings back in the studio, using transfer paper to keep these marks authentic from the experience. This current process of artmaking became a lifeline to me, as times got tougher. When restrictions eased for Mother’s Day, I asked for one thing, a day to paint plein air in the landscape I longed for, with solitude to think. This is the view on the hill behind our house, with magical views to Emu Mountain and the sea. Decadence to me that day was pure self-indulgence.
Photographer: Libby Derham
A Plastic Sea (Vote for this Artwork)
Lyn Laver-Ahmat, 2020
Artist Location: Slade Point
Medium: Found plastic pieces sourced from the sea
Dimensions: 90 x 120 x 6 cm
Artist Statement:
I created this wall art piece by collecting marine debris and plastics gathered from the Great Barrier Reef, close to where I live. I was amazed at the patina of these pieces of sea-worn coloured plastics and their unusual shapes and profiles.
I have always had a passion and concern for our beautiful environment. I used the theme of Decadence to bring light to the dangers of carelessly discarding these plastic products that find their way into our waterways and destroy our precious sea life. My piece will hopefully inspire the need for everyone to recycle.
Photographer: Lyn Laver-Ahmat
Ekka Icon (Vote for this Artwork)
Glen Smith, 2020
Artist Location: Bundamba
Medium: Acrylic on Board
Dimensions: 33 x 28 x 1 cm
Artist Statement:
Decadence; The process of falling into an inferior state of moral decay. I have to admit I suffer this state of mind every year when the Brisbane Exhibition, commonly known as the Ekka comes around. For its my love and desire for the Strawberry Ice-creams you can only get at the Ekka that drives me into a frenzy mess that I have to travel over two hours on a train, pay ludicrous amounts of money and suffer the pushing and shoving of the crowded show allies just so I can get my yearly fix of the delicious treat. I never leave the show grounds without devouring at least 4 ice-creams before facing another 2-hour trip home. So as simple as it seems the Ekka Strawberry Ice cream is my decadent secret desire and this painting gives homage to the iconic Strawberry Ice-cream Cone.
Photographer: Glen Smith
Ya grill gleamin’ (Vote for this Artwork)
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Hilary Coulter, 2020
Artist Location: Wandoan
Medium: Cotton, embroidery thread, water colour
Dimensions: 8 x 23 x 15 cm
Artist Statement:
In 2020 decadence is the space and freedom to move. However in the absence of that freedom, decadence is status. Grillz, a lavish form of dental jewellery worn over the teeth, have been a universal symbol of status, wealth and power for thousands of years with the first evidence of grillz dating as early as 2500BC. Since this date grillz have been found in the remains of ancient civilisations from a variety of countries including Egypt, Mexico, the Philippines and Italy. More recently they have been popular in Tajikistan and Uzbekistan, but endorsements from American hip hop and rap artists including Slick Rick and Nelly cemented their place as 21st century status symbols. Symbols of not only wealth but materialistic hedonism, these gleaming grins are literally muzzled by COVID-19 face mask obligations. Next on the consumerist chopping block, face masks are soon to be transformed beyond their humble beginnings.
Photographer: Hilary Coulter
Vanitas20 (Vote for this Artwork)
Karen Wiz Smith, 2020
Artist Location: Gold Coast
Medium: Acrylic on Canvas
Dimensions: 76 x 76 x 4 cm
Artist Statement:
Given our new unpredictable, dynamic, pandemic affected community, the artist was compelled to compose a modern version of the Vanitas art of the 16th and 17th centuries. Traditional symbols of wealth and death combined with symbols of life which are indigenous to her local area intentionally saturate the canvas…”Where to from here?”
Photographer: Karen Wiz Smith
A decadent moment (Vote for this Artwork)
Sue Shakeshaft, 2020
Artist Location: Logan
Medium: Acrylic on canvas
Dimensions: 30 x 40 x 1.5 cm
Artist Statement:
I chose to create my interpretation of decadence using a combination of colours and energetic explosive mark making, which convey overindulgence and exuberance in an abstract and expressive way. I am influenced by the works of Jackson Pollock and Willem de Kooning. To me the process of flicking and throwing down splatters of thick paint over layers of wet paint created an overwhelming feeling of having a decedent self-indulgent moment.
Photographer: Sue Shakeshaft
summa prospectum ex, inferno itur (Vote for this Artwork)
Cara-Ann Simpson, 2020
Artist Location: Toogoom
Medium: Pigment print on Ilford gold fibre gloss rag
Dimensions: 76 x 76 x 0 cm
Artist Statement:
summa prospectum ex, inferno itur (the view from the top is the path to hell) is from Furari Flores (Stealing Flowers) – a series of vanitas artworks exploring ephemerality and societal decay.
This series acts as a nexus between commentary on personal challenges and an outward interpretation of global news. They are an ironic reminder of the innate beauty found simultaneously in decadence and decay.
Just as the vanitas still life paintings became vanitas (vanity of vanities) objects themselves through the irony of being collectible commodities, so too does this series. Cut flowers and subsequent development of art objects are in themselves a decadence and luxury that few can afford. Behind this more obvious symbolism, is another incorporated through the spectrograph (visual analysis of sound) and composition – the luxury of good health, another vanity unnoticed until it is lost. While we stand at the summit, rarely do we realise that the only way forward is down.
Photographer: Cara-Ann Simpson
The Dance of Decay (Vote for this Artwork)
Kaylie Jenkins, 2020
Artist Location: Danbulla
Medium: Acrylic on Canvas
Dimensions: 40.5 x 50.5 x 3.5 cm
Artist Statement:
A detournement of Thomas Couture’s 1847 masterpiece “Romans of the Decadence?”
Amidst rumours of an ancient race of elitist lizard people living among the higher echelons of human society, corrupting our governing systems. The veil is lifted.
Indulgence is born of corruption. An ‘Evil’ corruption.
Consider a necessary evil, creating balance for optimum experience and growth.
Presenting the challenge, not of resisting temptation but of moderating it. Without challenge innovation is limited. However, complete abstinence, as the opposing extreme of indulgence, is equally flawed in limiting potential and experiential growth. True self-discipline lies in the constant negotiation of individual beliefs, never lazily locking anything in, but rather being present in the decisions we make at every opportunity, acknowledging the moments that shape our existence.
The decadent cephalopod knows what I’m talking about.
Photographer: Kaylie Jenkins