The Lost Glover

Recorded comments by the artist John Glover reveal he was sympathetic to the fate of the first Tasmanians, who were then being displaced, violated and murdered by British colonists. Glover never incorporated this narrative in his paintings, depicting the Aboriginal people as living peacefully with each other and the natural world, their traditional way of life undisturbed by colonisation. This painting re-imagines what a painting by Glover might have looked like had he portrayed a more honest depiction of the Tasmanian landscape. He is shown in the form of the statue by which we know him, standing in front of this speculative painting. The Lost Glover, is set on a museum wall, as if filling a gap in art history.

Rodney Pople

2019

Egg tempera on linen