Vantage
2025
Following a journey through Central Australia, Lake Conjola–based printmaker Peta West returned to her studio with sketches and recollections — fragments of terrain and flora that would cohere into Vantage. Those impressions anchor two of the most significant works of her career, extending the reach of a practice that now stands among the most accomplished in contemporary Australian printmaking.
In the studio, West builds her images through patient, physical labour — carving line by line, then rolling each plate by hand in Prussian blue ink and pressing it onto fine Japanese paper. In ‘Mallee Country’ (2025), light slices through dense foliage, catching the brief shimmer of wings in motion. In ‘Sweetwater’ (2025), two red-tailed black cockatoos rest beside a mirrored river, surrounded by Sturt’s desert rose and gum flowers in bloom. Each piece took shape over hundreds of hours: a record of endurance as much as of vision.
The discipline of photography, West’s first practice, remains visible in the measured contrasts and balanced framing of each image. Yet her instinct is sculptural rather than documentary. “I’m constantly searching for ways to carve the landscape with depth,” she says, “so that when you look at the work, you feel as though you could step right into the reimagined vista before you.”
Alongside these linocuts, West presents a suite of graphite drawings — close studies of native species including the gymea lily, flannel flower, and old man banksia. Rendered in soft tonal gradations, they serve as still points within her broader ecosystems: intimate, exact, and luminous.
The smaller studies (shown below) were created out on Country, capturing moments directly onto lino. These intimate works become the foundation and inspiration for my larger-scale pieces, guiding the rhythm, form, and detail that unfold within them.
