Ross Taylor lives and works in the Macedon Ranges, a vast region of Central Victoria, Australia known for its wild terrains and expansive forests. Much of Taylor’s recent artistic practice is influenced by this epic landscape, one that wildly conflicts with his previous environment in the north of England, and is also a marked change to some of his earlier work. Taylor’s work plays with the ancient and the every day, the sacred and the banal, with extraordinary use of colour that captivates the viewer.
The artist is intrigued by memory and how one can recall or retell an experience, whether that be what we conjure up in our minds or that which he, as a painter, evokes for the viewer. Taylor states that he “tries to convey what I can see in front of me, but also what is behind me and what I cannot see”. There is vivid luminosity in each piece and the carefully considered colours present to the viewer work that is drenched in vibrancy, yet still visible are aspects of a somewhat dark and desolate scene left by bushfires that ripped through the region just over half a decade ago.
Taylor’s work seeks to respond to the complexity of an ever-changing landscape, and in particular, the way in which nature can evolve and regenerate itself after such events. These contrasting images coalesce on canvas to create original yet incredibly beautiful and visually stunning depictions of one’s surroundings.
