We acknowledge the Gadigal of the Eora Nation, the traditional custodians of the Country on which the Art Gallery of NSW stands.

Imants Tillers Prayer for rain

synthetic polymer paint, gouache on 54 canvas boards

227 x 212 cm

A flower meadow is an unusual subject for an Australian landscape – we are more familiar with the harsh realities of fire, drought and flood. Yet such gentle, quiet and fecund places exist on our continent – notably in the subalpine areas of NSW, Victoria and Tasmania. And indeed proximity to the summer meadows of the Kosciusko National Park was one of the reasons I moved with my family to Cooma, 25 years ago. But here the meadow of daisies is also a metaphor for the self. So we pray: ‘MINE THOU LORD OF LIFE, SEND MY ROOTS RAIN’.

Imants Tillers, 2020