'The Row To Ruin'

This original surreal stencil artwork by Melbourne artist Geoff Cunningham blends imagination, bold colour and humour. Using hand-cut stencils and layered spray techniques, Geoff creates scenes that blur the line between reality and the subconscious. Each piece invites viewers into a thoughtful, curious and visually unexpected world.

“A society grows great when old men plant trees in whose shade they know they shall never sit.”

If only our political and business leaders subscribed to this philosophy and started to care about the long game. The world is currently running at an ecological deficit (ie: we use more resources than we produce) and only extreme measures will find a way out of the mess we have created.

As an artist, sometimes you feel so strongly about an image or message that you are compelled to create it, even though no one is ever likely to buy it.

‘The Row To Ruin’ is one of those pieces for me; the owl head represents how we see ourselves - enlightened and wise, but in reality we are greedy and short-sighted and our “wis-dumb”(wisdom) is reflected in the crisis we now find ourselves in.

This piece was a finalist in the 2022 National Capital Art Prize in the Sustainability category.

Aerosol & acrylic on canvas - 76 x 76cm