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That was the river this is the sea
Artwork on Cover Oil on linen, 182 x 122 cm $13,800
Primal Highway marks Kate Elsey's 23rd solo exhibition and seventh with Linton and Kay Galleries since 2015, following on from the immersive Magic Carpet Kakadu (Gaagudju) exhibition in 2022. 2023 saw the installation of a major commission of three paintings for the Ritz Carlton Hotel, Melbourne. The central theme of this monochrome series titled City at Tidal Reach presents a contrast between man-made elements and their convergence with the moon-lit waterways and misty skies once comprising the wetlands of Birrarung Marr. Further exploration of this theme has led to a new series of works that reimagine the earliest pathways of our natural world, predating the highways of human creation.
Primal Highway is comprised of 25 tributes to nature, each realised through free association and led by Elsey's instinctual threadline technique. Her innate bladework awakens a form of ecological silhouette, forever meandering the canvas and embroidering space and light to eventually resolve in its most essential form.
“I am reimagining in pictures the beginning forces of our natural world
From the first steppe the river took
To the rain drops climb the mountain peak
There were rumblings of a new world
Spoken a surprising language
In a place where human could hunt and watch tv.” Elsey
River bend echo
Oil on linen, 180 x 100 cm
$12,500
life of a reflection pond
Secret Oil on linen, 152 x 122 cm $12,500
A paradise found
Oil on linen, 182 x 122 cm
$13,800
Cloud bouquet
Oil on linen, 92x 102 cm
$8,800
Before the world was made
Oil on linen, 183 x 300 cm
$26,500
All the greens in the leaves
Oil on linen, 142 x 182 cm
$14,500
by time
Annotated Oil on linen, 102 x 82 cm $8,500
rain drops to the mountain peak
Climbing Oil on linen, 100 x 100 cm $9,500
Sun cradle
Oil on linen, 110 x 90 cm
$9,500
Spoken a surprising language
Oil on linen, 135 x 230 cm
$18,500
Colours of a nautical twilight
Oil on linen, 152 x 122 cm
$12,500
Lava bouquet
Oil on linen, 182 x 122 cm
$13,800
Luna mare
Oil on linen, 120 x 150 cm
$12,500
Marbled moon melaleuca Oil on linen, 182 x 142 cm
$14,500
Water currents cloud waves and dancing trees
Oil on linen, 183 x 300 cm
$26,500
The time keeper
Oil on linen, 150 x 100 cm
$11,500
The wanderer Oil on linen, 150 x 100 cm
$11,500
The twist
Oil on linen, 102 x 92 cm
$8,800
The first steppe the river took
Oil on linen, 110 x 90 cm $9,500
rain embrace for all of time
Oil on linen, 135 x 230 cm
Granite $18,500
Moon mist and city lights at tidal reach
Oil on linen, 185 x 170 cm
$18,500
The old time river Oil on linen, 182 x 142 cm
$14,500
Where the sun rays and the water falls
Oil on linen, 152 x 122 cm
$12,500
Rolling hills and echoes of song Oil on linen, 182 x 122 cm
$13,800