We rally to them, we fight under them, we tear them down. Banners can be powerful symbols, and in this image, leading Australian artist Juan Ford has used the symbol of the banner to align himself firmly with the fight against the destruction of the environment.
Ford says, “In my paintings, I try to express the notion that the age of the Anthropocene is only briefly allowable by, and subject to, the immense natural forces that dwarf ours.
"It is a concern for us, as much as for nature at large – we are poisoning our own well. If we make ourselves extinct by trashing the environment that sustains us, nature will survive, but we will cease to be. It’s that simple.”
The Art Gallery of Ballarat holds one of the country’s great art collections and we are continuing to add to it with works which represent aspects of our current society and the contemporary artistic environment. We are able to continue to build the collection largely through the generosity support of donors, such as the late Colin Hicks Caldwell, whose bequest paid for this recent acquisition.
Image: Juan Ford, ‘Banner’, 2019. oil on linen. 180 x 150 cm.
Purchased with funds from the Colin Hicks Caldwell Bequest, 2021.
Collection of the Art Gallery of Ballarat
© Juan Ford
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August 17, 2021
