Pampering mum

May 23, 2023

Pampering Mum, 2023
100 x 66cm, Painted on a reproduction of an altered “Shearing the rams” Tom Roberts, 1891 (137 x 167cm).

In this artwork, I’ve reimagined one of Australia’s most iconic paintings – displayed in a gilt frame in the National Gallery of Victoria, Melbourne. I’ve swapped the iconic scene of sheep being sheared by burly men for the same men pampering a massive blue-ringed octopus, one of Australia’s most deadly and feared creatures.

Now the individuals in the tableau are tending to the mother octopus, with the young boy seen delicately carrying her eggs. This new scenario paints a picture of a nurturing spa service for the mother octopus, who, in her self-sacrifice after laying her eggs, exemplifies maternal dedication in the animal kingdom.